THE 


PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY 


AN  ACCOUNT  OF   RECENT 

ARCHAEOLOGICAL,  PHILOLOGICAL  AND  GEOGRAPHICAL 

RESEARCHES 

IN  VARIOUS  PARTS  OF  THE  GLOBE. 

TENDING  TO  ELUCIDATE 

THE    PHYSICAL    HISTORY    OF    MAN. 

BY 

JOHN    RUSSELL    BARTLETT, 

COR.    SEC.    OF    THE    AMERICAN     ETHNOLOGICAL    SOCIETY,   AND    FOREIGN    COR.    SEC. 
OF    THE    NEW    YORK    HIST.    SOCIETY. 


SECOND  EDITION. 


NEW-YORK : 

BARTLETT  &  WELFORD,  7  ASTOR  HOUSE. 

1847. 


NEW-YORK : 

WILLIAM    VAN    NORDEN,    PRINTER, 

NO.  39    WILLIAM-STREET. 


B3 


CONTENTS 


/ 


NORTH  AMERICA. 

Explorations  and  Discoveries  in  the  Mounds  and  other  earth-works  in  Ohio. 
Similar  researches  and  their  resuUs  in  Mississippi  and  Louisiana.... Mr. 
Jomard's  essay  on  the  tablet  found  in  the  Grave  Creek  mound  in  Virginia, 
p.  1. 

California  and  New  Mexico — Recent  explorations  in  these  countries,  with  ac- 
counts of  the  Navijo  and  Moqui  Indians ;  architectural  remains  on  the 
banks  of  the  Gila. ..French  explorations  in  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  p.  15. 

Researches  in  Greenland,  and  the  Arctic  regions  ;  geograpliical  and  historical 
results.... Late  attempts  for  exploring  the  northern  portiolft  of  the  Ame- 
rican Continent,  p.  21. 

SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Details  of  the  Scientific  Expedition  under  Count  Castelnau,  sent  by  the  French 
government  for  exploring  the  interior  of  South  America.... English  expe- 
dition under  Lord  Ranelagh — other  scientific  expeditions... Peruvian  anti- 
quities, etc.  etc.,  p.  27. 

AFRICA. 

Recent  attempts  for  exploring  the  interior  of  Africa.. ..Mr.  Thomson's  journey 
from  Sierra  Leone.... Mr.  Duncan's  journey  northward  from  Dahomey. 
Missionary  operations  at  the  Gaboon. ...Mr.  Richardson's  journey  into  the 
great  desert  of  Sahara.. ..The  French  expedition  up  the  Senegal,  under 
Mr.  Raffenel.... Extensive  project  for  the  exploration  of  Soudan,  in  Central 
Africa. ...Proposed  expedition  for  penetrating  the  country  from  the  eastern 
side....  Contributions  to  the  geography  of  Southern  Africa... .Mr.  Maizan's 
unfortunate  attempt  to  reach  the  interior  from  Zanzibar,  p.  32. 

Algiers — scientific  explorations  by  the  French  Government ;  interesting  results ; 
errors  respecting  the  desert  of  Sahara,  p.  41. 

Discovery  of  the  ancient  Lybian  alphabet,  by  M.  de  Saulcy,  p.  44. 

The  Berbers  ;  late  researches  into  their  language,  p.  45. 

Madagascar  ;  recent  visits  of  the  French,  p.  47. 

Egypt;  results  of  the  late  explorations;  state  of  hieroglyphic  and  Coptic  litera- 
ture ;  Egyptian  history  and  chronology,  p.  48. 


IV  CONTENTS. 

EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 
BonwEO — Mr.  Brooke's  colony;  the  Dyaks The  Dutch  and  other  European 

colonies  in  the  East  Indies. ..New  Caledonia  islands... The  Sooloo  islands. 

The  Nicobar  islands,  p.  54. 
Australia  ;  accounts  of  late  explorations,  by  Count  Strzelecki,  Dr.  Leichardt  and 

others,  p.  63. 

ASIA. 

Asia  Minor — Interesting  discoveries  in  Lycia,  p.  69. 

Arabia — Historical  and  philological  results  of  the  researches  in  Southern  Arabia, 
the  country  of  the  ancient  Himyarites  ;  importance  of  these  discoveries  in 
elucidating  Scriptural  history,  p.  73. 

The  Caucasus — E.xploration  by  M.  Hommaire  de  Hell... Sclavonic  MSS.  and 
inscriptions,  p.  84. 

Assyria  and  Persia — History  of  the  study  of  the  ancient  arrow-headed  inscrip- 
tions....Extraordinary  results  therefrom.... The  Zendavesta....The  Zend 
language.... The  great  inscription  of  Darius.... Explorations  at  Nineveh. 
Journeys  of  Dr.  Robert ;  of  Prince  Waldemar,  etc.,  p.  84. 

Siberia — Journeys  of  Count  Middendorf  and  others ;  geographical  and  ethno- 
graphical results,  p.  109. 

India — Progress  of  civilization  ;  importance  of  missionary  labors,  p.  113. 

SiAM — Decline  of  Boodhism;  extension  of  Christianity,  p.  117. 

Cochin-China — Visit  of  Mr.  Hedde  to  Turon,  in  Annam,  p.  118. 

China — Latest  accounts  fi-om,  p.  119. 

CoREA — Efforts  of  the  Catholic  missionaries  to  christianize  the  natives,  p.  123. 

Manchuria... Mongolia — Recent  accounts  from  these  countries  ;  journey  of  Rev. 
Mr.  Hue,  in  Mongolia,  p.  125. 

Lew-Chew  Islands — Attempt  to  establish  a  mission,  by  Rev.  Mr,  Forcade  ;  no- 
tices of  the  people,  their  manners,  customs,  and  language,  p.  127. 

Japan — Recent  attempts  to  communicate  with  the  Japanese ;  peculiarities  of  this 
people... General  view  of  the  languages  of  the  Japanese,  Coreans,  Chinese, 
and  Cochin-Chinese,  p.  131. 


THE    PROGRESS 


ETHNOLOGY. 


THE  PROGRESS 


ETHNOLOGY   AND   GEOGRAPHY. 


I  have  the  pleasure  of  laying  before  the  New  York 
Historical  Society  a  brief  account  of  the  progress  which 
has  been  made  during  the  past  year  towards  extending 
our  knowledge  of  the  globe,  particularly  with  reference  to 
its  geography,  and  to  those  nations  whose  history  is  imper- 
fectly known.  The  subject  is  one  that  more  properly 
belongs  to  ethnology,  but  the  historical  results  which  are 
deduced  from  these  enquiries  come  within  the  scope  of  the 
objects,  the  elucidation  of  which  belongs  to  this  Society. 

A  new  impulse  has  latelj'^  been  given  to  the  study  of 
American  Antiquities.  A  brief  account  of  recent  investi- 
gations carried  on  in  a  portion  of  the  West  and  South  will 
show  that  we  possess  much  that  is  interesting,  and  which 
will  throw  light  on  a  neglected  branch  of  aboriginal  his- 
tory and  ethnology. 

Every  enquirer  into  the  origin  and  purposes  of  the 
monuments  and  ancient  remains  of  the  Mississippi  valley 
has  regretted  the  limited  number  and  poorly  attested 
character  of  the  facts,  of  which  the  public  are  in  posses- 
sion, respecting  them.  The  practical  investigations  made 
from  time  to  time  by  various  individuals,  have  not  been 
sufficiently  thorough  and  extensive,  nor  have  they  devel- 
oped sufficient  data  to  warrant  or  sustain  any  definite  or 
satisfactory  conclusions.  They  have  served  rather  to 
provoke  enquiries  which  they  could  in  no  degree  satisfy, 


4  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

than  to  afford  information  on  the  subject  with  which  they 
were  connected. 

It  was  under  a  strong  sense  of  the  deficiencies  in  our 
stock  of  information  in  this  branch  of  knowledge,  that 
two  gentlemen  of  Chillicothe,  Ohio,  Dr.  Davis  and  Mr. 
E.  G.  Squier,  undertook  the  exploration  of  the  ancient  re- 
mains which  abound  in  the  state  of  Ohio,  and  particularly 
of  those  in  the  valley  of  the  Scioto  river. 

It  is  known  that  there  exists  in  this  region  vast  numbers 
of  mounds,  of  various  dimensions,  and  extensive  embank- 
ments of  earth,  enclosing  in  some  instances  many  acres  of 
ground.  Beside  these  there  are  ditches,  walls,  cause- 
ways and  other  works  of  a  greater  or  less  extent.  The 
examination  of  these,  by  opening  the  mounds,  and  making 
accurate  surveys  of  the  other  works  constitute  the  labors 
of  these  gentlemen,  some  of  the  results  of  which  may  be 
stated  in  anticipation  of  a  full  account  which  will  shortly 
appear. 

Though  their  labors  at  first  promised  to  end  in  increased 
doubt  and  uncertainty,  they  were  abundantly  re\^arded 
as  their  enquiries  progressed.  Out  of  conflision,  system 
began  to  develope  itself,  and  what  seemed  accidents, 
were  found  to  be  characteristics.  What  was  regarded  as 
anomalous,  was  recognized  as  a  type  and  feature  of  a 
class,  and  apparent  coincidences  became  proofs  of  design. 

For  instance,  it  was  remarked  among  the  numerous 
tumuli  opened,  that  certain  ones  were  stratified,  while 
others  were  homogeneous  in  their  composition.  Further 
observation  showed  that  stratified  tumuli  occupy  a  certain 
fixed  position  with  regard  to  other  works,  which  the  un- 
stratified  tumuli  do  not.  Still  further  examinations 
demonstrated  that  the  contents  of  those  respective  tumuli 
are  radically  and  invariably  different.  Here  then  was 
established  :  1st.  That  the  mounds  are  not,  as  is  gene- 
rally supposed,  identical  in  character  and  purpose.  2d. 
That  one  class  occupies  a  fixed  position  with  regard  to 
works  of  a  different  character,  the  design  of  which  is  to  be 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  5 

determined,  to  some  degree,  by  tlic  peculiarities  and  the 
contents  of  this  description  of  mounds,  etc. 

It  will  be  seen,  at  once,  that  a  close  observation  of 
facts  of  this  kind  is  absolutely  essential,  to  arrive  at  any 
reasonable  conclusions,  regarding  the  purposes  of  these 
ancient  structures,  their  origin,  or  the  character  or  cus- 
toms of  the  people  by  whom  they  were  built.  The 
investigations  of  Dr.  Davis  and  Mr.  Squier,  were  therefore 
conducted  so  as  to  permit  the  escape  of  no  fact  which 
might  tend  to  elucidate  the  mystery  in  which  our  antiqui- 
ties are  shrouded.  The  excavations  were  made  under 
their  personal  direction,  and  the  results  may  be  briefly 
stated,  without  detailing  the  facts  in  support  of  each  con- 
clusion, as  follows. 

The  number  of  enclosures  or  earthworks  which  have 
been  surveyed  by  them,  and  of  which  they  have  taken 
careful  admeasurements,  exceeds  ninety.  The  number  of 
tumuli  which  have  been  excavated  and  their  character- 
istics noted,  amounts  to  one  hundred  and  fifteen. 

Of  the  first  class  of  works,  it  has  been  sufficiently 
demonstrated,  that  a  small  proportion  were  intended  for 
works  of  defence  ;  that  another  portion  were  sacred  places, 
or  in  some  way  connected  with  religious  or  superstitious 
rites,  while  a  third  and  much  the  larger  number  are 
entirely  inexplicable  in  our  present  state  of  information. 

The  tumuli  are  divided  into  three  grand  classes,  which 
are  broadly  marked  in  the  aggregate,  though  there  are 
individual  instances  of  an  anomalous  character.  These 
are : 

1st.  Tumuli  of  sepulture,  each  containing  a  single 
skeleton  enclosed  in  a  rude,  wooden  coffin,  or  an  envelope 
of  bark  or  matting,  and  occurring  in  isolated  or  detached 
groups. 

2d.     Tumuli  of  sacrifice,  containing  symmetrical  altars 
of  stone  or  burnt  clay,  occurring  within  or  in  the  immedi- 
ate vicinity  of  enclosures,  and  always  stratified. 
1* 


6  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

3d.     Places    of  observation,  or  mounds    raised    upon 
elevated  or  commanding  positions. 

Within  these  monuments  have  been  found  implements 
and  ornaments  of  silver,  copper,  lead,  stone,  ivory  and 
pottery,  fashioned  into  a  thousand  forms,  and  evincing  a 
skill  in  art,  to  which  the  existing  race  of  Indians,  at  the 
time  of  their  discoveiy,  could  not  approach.  Marine 
shells,  mica  from  the  primitive  regions,  native  copper  from 
the  shores  of  lake  Superior,  galena  from  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi, cetacean  teeth,  pearls  and  instruments  of  ohsidian, 
show  the  extent  of  communication  and  intercourse  had  by 
the  authors  of  these  ancient  works.  Sculptures  of  animals, 
birds  and  reptiles  have  been  found  in  great  numbers  and 
variety,  exhibiting  a  skill  which  few  could  nov/  surpass. 
Also,  sculptures  of  the  human  head,  disclosing  most  pro- 
bably the  character  of  the  physiognomy,  as  well  as  the 
manner  of  adjusting  the  hair,  the  head  dress  and  ornaments 
of  the  mound-builders.  Careful  admeasurements  of  the 
earth  works  which  abound  in  the  Ohio  valley,  have  been 
made  by  the  gentlemen  alluded  to,  in  which  the  interesting 
fact  has  been  developed,  that  many  of  them  are  perfect 
circles  and  squares,  and  hence  that  the  people  by  whom 
they  were  constructed  had  some  means  of  determining 
angles  and  of  constructing  circles.  In  some  of  those 
earth-heaps,  sufficient  remains  to  show  that  when  in  a 
perfect  state,  they  resembled  the  teocaUis  or  terraced  edi- 
fices of  Mexico  and  Yucatan,  though  they  were  composed 
'wholly  of  wood  and  earth. 

The  number  of  works  manifestly  connected  in  some 
way  with  their  religion,  guide  us  to  some  estimate  of  the 
prominence  which  their  superstitions  occupied,  and  that 
a  religious  system  existed  among, them,  in  some  degree 
resembling  that  of  the  ancient  Mexicans.  The  immense 
tumuli  heaped  over  the  remains  of  the  dead,  show  the 
regard  which  they  attached  to  their  chiefs,  and  the  vene- 
ration in  which  they  held  their  memory.  The  number 
and  extent  of  their  remains  of  all  kinds,  which  occupy 


THE   PROGRESS    OF    ETIINOLOOY. 


the  fertile  valleys,  and  which  are  confined  almost  entirely 
to  them,  indicate  that  an  immense  population  once  existed 
there,  that  it  was  stationary  and  therefore  agricultural  ;* 
and  if  agricultural  and  stationary,  that  a  different  organiza- 
tion of  society,  different  manners  and  customs,  different 
impulses  and  feelings  existed  among  them,  than  are  to  be 
found  among  the  hunter  and  nomadic  tribes,  discovered 
by  Europeans  in  possession  of  the  country. 

Another  class  of  antiquities  has  been  discoved  by  these 
gentlemen,  of  which  we  only  have  the  particulars  in  a 
letter.  These  consist  of  rocks  sculptured  with  figures  of 
men,  of  birds  and  animals.  They  are  cut  in  outline,  the 
lines  being  from  one  half  to  three  quarters  of  an  inch  deep 
by  about  the  same  width.  Only  those  on  the  sides  of  the 
rocks  are  visible.  Those  on  the  upper  or  horizontal  faces 
are  nearly  obliterated.  One  represents  an  elk  and  is 
said  to  be  very  spirited. 

What  may  result  from  the  future  researches  of  Dr. 
Davis  and  Mr.  Squier,  remains  to  be  seen  ;  but  sufficient 
has  been  developed  to  show  that  a  people,  radically  diff- 
erent from  the  existing  race  of  Indians,  once  occupied  the 
valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  built  the  singular  monuments 
in  which  it  abounds.  These  also  show  that  they  were  to 
a  certain  extent  advanced  in  the  arts  and  civilization.  In 
short  that  they  closely  resembled  in  the  character  of  their 
structures,  ornaments  and  implements  of  war  and  hus- 
bandry, the  races  of  Central  America  ;  if  they  were  not 
indeed  their  progenitors  or  an  offshoot  from  them.  Many 
facts  strongly  point  to  such  a  conclusion  and  farther  ob- 
servations carefully  conducted,  will  probably  enable  us 
to  settle  the  question  beyond  a  doubt. 


*  In  a  paper  read  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft  before  the  American  Ethnological  Society, 
it  was  clearly  shown  by  existing  remains,  in  Michigan  and  Indiana,  plans  of 
which  were  exhibited,  that  vast  districts  of  country,  now  covered  by  forests  and 
prairies,  bear  incontestable  proofs  of  having  been  subject  to  cultivation  at  a  remote 
period  and  before  the  forest  had  begun  its  growth. 


8  THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 

A  detailed  account  of  the  researches  of  the  gentlemen 
alluded  to,  accompanied  by  numerous  engravings  repre- 
senting the  implements,  ornaments  and  sculptures,  &c., 
discovered  in  their  excavations  ; — surveys  of  the  various 
earth  works,  forts  and  enclosures  in  the  Scioto  valley,  will 
be  given  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the 
American  Ethnological  Society,  now  preparing  for  publi- 
cation. They  are  still  actively  engaged  in  their  labors, 
and  intend,  should  the  facilities  be  extended  them  to  cany 
on  their  operations,  to  examine  every  ancient  relic  to  be 
found  in  Ohio  and  the  adjacent  parts,  where  these  remains 
exist. 

Among  the  explorations  which  have  been  carried  on  in 
the  United  States,  none  possess  a  greater  interest  than 
those  of  Dr.  M.  W.  Dickeson,  in  the  south  western  states, 
chiefly  in  Mississippi,  though  in  some  instances  extending 
to  Alabama,  Louisiana,  and  Texas.  Dr.  Dickeson  has 
laid  open  or  examined  one  hundred  and  fifty  mounds  and 
tumuli,  of  various  dimensions  and  collected  a  vast  num- 
ber of  interesting  relics,  which  illustrate  the  customs  and 
arts  of  the  ancient  people  who  built  them.  The  mounds 
vary  from  three  to  ninety  feet  in  height,  and  from  twelve  to 
three  hundred  feet  in  diameter  at  the  base.  The  Seltzer 
Town  mound  contains  a  superficies  of  eight  acres  on  its 
summit.  On  digging  into  it  vast  quantities  of  human 
skeletons  were  found,  chiefly  with  their  heads  flattened, 
and  measuring  generally  six  feet  in  length.  Numerous 
specimens  of  pottery,  including  finely  finished  vases  filled 
with  pigments,  ashes,  ornaments,  and  beads,  were  also 
found. 

The  north  side  of  this  mound  is  supported  with  a  wall 
two  feet  thick,  of  sun  dried  bricks,  filled  with  grass,  rushes 
and  leaves.  In  order  to  ascertain  whether  this  immense 
tumulus  was  artificial  or  not,  Dr.  Benbrook,  sank  a  shaft 
forty  two  feet,  and  found  it  artificial  or  made  ground  to 
that  depth.  Immense  quantities  of  bones,  both  of  men 
and  animals,  among  the  latter  the  head  of  a  huge  bear, 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  9 

were  thrown  out.  Other  excavations  were  made  in  this 
tumulus  with  the  same  result,  thus  showing  it  to  have 
been  a  vast  mausoleum  or  cemetery  of  the  ancient  race. 

The  mounds  are  generally  in  systems  varying  from 
seven  to  ten,  which  Dr.  Dickeson  has  divided  into  six 
classes  as  follows  :  out  post,  ramiiarts  or  walls,  telegraplis  or 
look  outs,  temples,  cemeteries,  and  tent  mounds.  The  first  is  sel- 
dom more  than  thirty  feet  at  the  base  by  ten  feet  high. 
Their  shape  varies,  presenting  sometimes  a  pyramid,  at 
others  a  cone,  or  rhomboid.  Walls  surround  the  second 
class,  which  are  from  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  heighth,  the  same 
across  the  top,  and  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  at  the  base. 

The  '■'Look  ouf  mounds  are  seldom  under  sixty  feet  high. 
Of  this  class,  Dr.  Dickeson  has  examined  upwards  of  nine- 
ty. They  are  generally  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  overlooking 
the  bottom  lands.  Here  they  stand  some  three  hundred 
feet  above  the  bottom  lands,  commanding  an  extensive 
prospect,  and  is  some  instances  one  may  see  the  peaks  of 
several  systems  of  mounds  in  the  distance. 

The  "  Temple  mounds'^  are  seldom  more  than  twenty  feet 
high,  and  stratified  with  ashes,  loam,  gravel,  &c.  They  all 
have  an  earthen  floor.  Dr.  Dickeson  has,  but  in  a.  single 
instant,  found  a  skeleton  in  these  mounds,  and  in  this,  he 
thinks  the  subject  a  Choctaw  Indian  recently  placed  there. 
Itlay  in  a  horizontal  position,  differing  fi-om  the  usual  mode 
of  burial,  which  is  the  sitting  posture. 

The  "  Cemeteries'^  are  oval,  and  from  six  to  ten  feet  high, 
filled  with  bones,  lying  east  and  west,  and  when  incased 
in  sarcophagi,  the  rows  run  in  the  same  direction.  In 
some  instances  Dr.  Dickeson  found  the  bones  lying  in 
heaps,  promiscuously.  These  he  believes  to  have  been 
the  canaille. 

The  "  Tent  or  Structure  mou7ids"  are  small,  and  a  short 
distance  below  their  surface,  fragments  of  brick  and  ce- 
ment are  found  in  great  quantities  ;  sometimes  skeletons 
and  pottery.  Never  more  than  six  skeletons  are  found 
together,  and  more  care  is  shown  in  the  burial  of  these 


10 


THE    PROGRESS    OF   ETHNOLOGY. 


than  in  the  "cemetery  mounds."  In  one  instance  an  angu- 
lar tumulus  was  seen  by  the  Doctor,  with  the  corners 
quite  perfect,  formed  of  large  bricks,  bearing  the  impres- 
sion of  an  extended  hand.* 

Many  mounds  and  tumuli  are  advantageously  situated 
on  the  tops  of  ridges,  surrounded  with  walls.  Some  of  the 
latter  have  crumbled  away,  while  others  remain  strong  and 
perpendicular.  In  many  instances,  the  walls  that  surround 
these  groups  of  mounds,  form  perfect  squares  and  circles. 
Dr.  Dickeson  adds  that,  "  if  from  the  centre  of  one  of  these 
groups  a  circle  were  traced,  it  would  strike  the  centre  of 
each  mound,  both  large  and  small."  They  contain  nu- 
merous fragments  of  walls,  images,  pottery,  ornaments, 
etc.  etc. 

The  "Temples"  are  generally  situated  among  the  hills 
and  ravines,  with  perpendicular  escarpments,  improved 
by  artificial  fortifications.  The  enclosures  often  embrace 
upwards  of  thirty  acres.  The  great  enclosure  at  "  the 
Trinity"  contains  upwards  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres, 
and  is  partially  faced  with  sundried  brick.  Upon  the 
plantation  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  in  Mississippi,  the  temple 
is  flanked  with  several  bastions^  besides  squares,  parallels, 
half  moons,  and  ravines  with  perpendicular  escaz'p- 
ments  for  its  defence.  The  ditches  and  small  lakes  are 
frequently  chained  for  miles  and  filled  with  water,  intend- 
ed, the  Doctor  thinks,  for  outworks.  In  these,  bricks  are 
found  both  at  the  bottom  and  on  the  sides.  Among  the 
rubbish  and  vegetable  deposits  taken  from  them  to  put  on 
the  land,  ornaments,  and  other  relics  are  found. 

Wells  and  reservoirs,  completely  walled  with  burnt  clay, 


*  This  figure  of  an  extended  hand  is  the  most  common  of  all  the  symbols  of 
the  aboriginal  tribes  of  America.  It  is  found  on  the  ancient  temples,  and  within 
the  tombs  of  Yucatan.  At  the  earliest  period  it  was  used  by  the  Indians,  in  the 
United  States,  and  at  the  present  time,  it  is  employed  by  the  roving  bands  and 
large  tribes  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  from  Texas 
northward. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  11 

are  loimd  in  Louisiana;  near  which  are  "systems,"  or 
groups  of  mounds  so  regular  and  strongly  fortified,  that 
they  became  the  retreat  of  pirates  and  robbers  who  in- 
fested the  rivers,  greatly  disturbing  the  early  settlers,  after 
the  massacre  of  the  Natchez  Indians  by  the  French.  The 
Natchez  built  large  dikes  or  ditches,  and  upon  the  coun- 
terscarp piled  up  huge  ramparts,  which  they  made  al- 
most impregnable,  by  having  one  side  flanked  by  the  slope 
of  a  hill,  surrounded  by  precipices.  They  are  sometimes 
situated  on  the  level  "  bottoms."*  In  these  cases  one 
side  invariably  faces  a  creek  or  bayou,  or  is  in  its  bend, 
making  the  creek  serve  as  a  formidable  ditch,  offering  a 
serious  impediment  to  an  enemy's  approach.  The  other 
two  sides  are  protected  by  parallel  walls  or  half  moons, 
with  gateways  leading  to  the  citadel.  These  walls  have 
indications  of  having  been  faced  with  dry  masonry.  The 
east  and  west  corners  are  generally  flanked  with  a  small 
oval  mound. 

In  these  tumuli  and  mounds  numerous  ornaments  and 
pottery  were  found  by  Dr.  Dickeson,  buried  with  the  oc- 
cupants, such  as  idols,  clay  stamps,  mica  mirrors,  stone 
axes,  and  arrow  heads,  silver  and  copper  ornaments,  rings, 
beads  of  jasper,  chalcedony,  agate,  &c.,  similar  to  those 
found  in  Peru  and  Mexico.  Several  pearls  of  great  beau- 
ty and  lustre,  an  inch  in  diameter,  have  been  found.  By 
an  examination  of  the  skulls,  Dr.  D.  discovered  that  den- 
tistry had  been  extensively  practised  by  this  ancient  peo- 
ple, as  plugging  the  teeth,  and  inserting  artificial  ones, 
was  common.  In  one  instance,  five  artificial  teeth  were 
found  inserted  in  one  subject.  Ovens  were  found  con- 
taining pottery  partially  baked,  three  feet  below  the  sur- 
face, with  large  trees  covering  them,  exhibiting  an  age  of 
upwards  of  five  hundred  years.      Magazines  of  arrow 


*  "  Bottoms"  and  "  bottom  lands,"  are  terms  applied  to  the  flat  lands  adjoin- 
ing rivers.  In  the  State  of  New  York  they  are  called  "  flats" — as  the  "  Mo- 
hawk flats." 


12  THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 

points,  in  one  instance  a  "  wagon  body  full,"  (about  twenty 
bushels,)  lying  within  the  space  of  a  few  feet.  In  a  small 
mound  in  Adams  county.  Dr.  D.  found  three  large  jars 
holding  upwards  of  ten  gallons  of  arrow  points  elaborate- 
ly finished  ;  and  three  similar  in  dimensions  and  finish, 
have  lately  been  received  by  Dr.  Morton,  of  Philadelphia, 
from  South  Carolina.  Carvings  representing  the  English 
bull  dog,  the  camel  and  lama,  have  been  found  by  Dr. 
Dickeson,  from  forty  to  sixty  feet  below  the  surface  of  the 
mound.  The  bricks,  to  which  allusion  has  been  made, 
are  of  various  colors  ;  some  of  a  bright  red,  others  dark 
brown,  various  shades  of  purple  and  yellow.  Forty 
stamps  of  baked  clay,  containing  a  variety  of  figures  used 
for  stamping  their  skins.  Pieces  of  coin,  two  of  which 
found  near  Natches,  had  the  figure  of  a  bird  on  one  side, 
and  on  the  reverse  an  animal. 

The  pottery  found  is  quite  extensive,  some  mounds  have 
been  opened  in  which  were  upwards  of  sixty  vases,  some 
quite  plain,  and  others  elaborately  ornamented.  Of  the 
potteiy.  Dr.  Dickeson  has  succeeded  in  getting  upwards 
of  a  hundred  fine  specimens  to  Philadelphia,  which  are 
deposited  with  his  other  Indian  relics  and  fossils,  in  the 
Museum  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences. 

Dr.  Dickeson  has  kindly  furnished  me  a  catalogue  of 
his  collection  of  relics,  from  which  I  have  selected  the 
following  to  give  an  idea  of  the  extent  and  variety  of  the 
objects  found : 

6000  Arrow  points  of  jasper,  chalcedony,  obsidian,  quartz, 
&c.,  &c. 
150  Arrow  points,  finely   polished,  under  one  inch  in 
length. 

25  Arrow  points,  finely  polished,  under  half  an  inch  in 
length. 
1600  Unfinished  Arrow  and  Spear  points. 
250  small  stone  Axes. 

40  Quoits,  Weights,  &c. 

20  Paint  mullers. 


THE   PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  13 

10  Corn  grinders. 
3  laro;e  stone  Mortars. 

14  small  earthen  Heads  of  men,  women  and  boys. 
C  stone  Statues,  erect  and  sitting. 

A  great  variety  of  personal  ornaments  of  jasper,  clialce- 
dony,  pottery,  beads,  pearls,  war  clubs,  war  axes,  mica 
mirrors,  carved  ornaments,  arm  bracelets,  bone  carvings, 
earthen  plates,  handled  saucers,  earthen  lamps,  a  variety 
of  vessels  for  culinary  purposes,  stone  chisels,  two  copper 
medals,  the  tusk  of  a  Mastodon,  six  feet  long,  elaborately 
carved  with  a  serpent  and  human  figures  ;  cylindrical 
tubes  of  jasper  perforated,  ornaments  in  pumice,  (lava,) 
seals,  bricks,  jars,  cups  and  vases  in  every  variety. 

In  addition  to  these.  Dr.  Dickeson  has  made  a  collec- 
tion  of  upwards  of  sixty  crania  of  the  ancient  mound 
builders,  out  of  many  thousand  skeletons  discovered  by 
him  in  his  several  explorations.  These  possess  much  in- 
terest in  an  Ethnographic  point  of  view,  for  the  rigid  test 
to  which  all  his  results  have  been  subjected,  have  satisfi- 
ed him  that  these  skulls  belong  to  the  ancient  race.  Like 
the  gentlemen  in  Ohio,  whose  labors  have  been  noticed, 
the  Doctor  can  at  once  detect  the  mounds  and  remains  o*' 
the  ancient,  from  those  of  the  modern  race.  Some  mounds 
he  has  found  to  be  the  work  of  three  periods.  At  the  top 
were  the  remains  of  the  present  race  of  Indians  ;  digging 
lower  he  found  these  remains  accompanied  by  ancient 
Spanish  relics,  of  the  period  of  the  earliest  Spanish  visit 
to  these  parts  ;  and  below  these,  he  discovered  the  re- 
mains and  relics  of  the  ancient  race. 

The  inscribed  tablet  discovered  in  the  grave-creek 
mound,  Virginia,  and  which  was  noticed  by  Mr.  School- 
craft in  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  ot  the  Ameri- 
can Ethnological  Society,  continues  to  excite  much  inter 
est.  Mr.  Jomard  of  the  Frencli  Institute,  read  a  second 
paper  on  that  subject  last  year,  before  the  Academy  of 
Inscriptions  and  Belles-lettres  at  Paris,  a  copy  of  which 
2 


14  THE   PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 

he  has  transmitted  to  the  Society.*  He  distinctly  shows, 
that  the  letters  of  this  curious  inscription  are  identically 
the  same  as  those  of  the  Libyan  on  the  monument  of 
Thugga,t  and  of  the  Tuarycks  used  at  this  day.  It  is 
worthy  of  remark,  that  Mr.  Hodgson  in  his  "Notes  on 
Africa,"!  arrived  at  the  same  conclusion,  without  the 
knowledge  that  JNlr.  Jomard,  some  years  previously, 
had  asserted  the  Lib3'an  character  of  this  inscription, 
in  a  first  note  on  the  subject.^  Such  a  coincidence  gives 
force  to  the  views  adopted  by  both  these  gentlemen.  The 
results  to  which  the  French  savant  has  arrived,  in  his  en- 
quiry mto  this  engraved  stone  or  tablet,  possess  much  in- 
terest, as  it  is  the  only  rehc  yet  discovered  in  North  Amer- 
ica, of  an  inscription  bearing  alphabetic  characters,  || 
which  have  been  satisfactorily  identified  as  such.  This 
Numidian  inscription,  which  title  we  may  now  apply  to 
the  engraved  tablet  in  question,  will  be  again  alluded  to, 
when  we  come  to  speak  of  the  philological  discoveries  in 
Northern  Africa,  and  of  the  Libyan  alphabet. 

In  conclusion  Mr.  Jomard  observes,  that  at  a  remote 
period  the  Libyan  language  was  spoken  by  various  tribes 
in  Northern  Africa,   and  that  it  was  a  language  written 

*  Second  Note  sur  une  piene  grav^e  trouv^  dans  un  ancien  tumulus  Ameri- 
caine,  et  a  cette  occasion,  sur  ridiome  Libyen,  par  M.  Jomard.  bvo.  Paris, 
1846. 

t  See  Mr.  Catherwood's  paper  on  the  Thugga  monument  and  its  inscriptions,  in 
the  Ethnolg.  Trans.     Vol.  I.  p.  477. 

t  Notes  on  Africa,  p. 

§  The  essay  here  alluded  to,  was  the  reply  of  Mr.  Jomard  to  a  note  addressed 
to  him  by  Mr.  Eugene  Vail,  in  1839,  announcing  the  discovery  of  the  inscribed 
tablet  in  the  Grave-creek  mound,  and  requesting  his  opinion  in  relation  to  it.  In 
this  reply,  Mr.  Jomard  stated  that  they  were  of  the  same  character  with  the 
inscriptions  found  by  Major  Denham  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  as  well  as  in  Al- 
giers and  Tunis.  This  note  was  inserted  in  Mr.  Vail's  work  entitled  "  Notice 
sur  les  Indiens  de  I'Amerique  du  Nord."  Paris,  1840.  This  work  is  scarcely 
known  in  the  United  States. 

II I  am  aware  that  many  believe  the  sculptures  on  the  Dighton  rock  to  contain 
several  alphabetic  characters.  Prof.  Rafn  in  his  learned  and  ingenious  me- 
moir on  this  inscription,  supports  this  view.  In  fact,  Mr.  Jomard  himself  hints 
at  their  Phenician  origin. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  15 

with  characters,  such  as  we  now  find  on  the  Thugga  edi- 
fice and  other  monuments  ;  that  it  is  still  written  with  the 
same  characters,  particularly  in  the  vicinity  of  Fezzan 
and  in  the  deserts  traversed  by  the  Tuarycks,  although 
this  method  of  writing  has  been  to  so  great  an  extent  sup- 
planted by  Arabic  letters  that  we  must  consider  the  Ber- 
ber language,  the  language  ofSyouah,  Sokna,  Audjelah, 
and  Gherma,  as  representing  the  remains  of  the  ancient 
Libyan  language  in  use  in  the  most  remote  period  ;  and 
finally,  that  in  the  interior  of  America,  on  a  monument  of 
which  the  age  is  unknown,  but  anterior  to  the  settlement 
by  Europeans,  we  find  an  engraved  stone,  bearing  signs 
perfectly  resembling  the  characters  traced  by  the  modern 
Tuarycks  and  by  their  ancestors,  upon  the  rocks  of  Libya. 
Mr.  Jomard's  pamphlet  contains  an  engraved  table,  in 
which  are  given,  in  parallel  columns,  the  characters  on  the 
American  tablet,  the  Tuaryck  alphabet,  the  Thugga  char- 
acters, and  their  value  in  Hebrew  and  Arabic. 

In  connexion  with  this  subject  it  may  be  added,  that  M. 
Berthelot,  a  learned  traveller,  states  that  there  exists  a 
striking  affinity  between  the  names  of  places  and  of  men  in 
the  ancient  lantjuaofe  of  the  Canaries  and  certain  Carib 
words.*  The  contiguity  of  the  Canaries  to  the  African 
continent  is  such,  that  we  can  readily  suppose  their  an- 
cient inhabitants  to  have  had  communication  with  it, 
whereby  the  Libyan  language  became  known  to  them.  A 
new  field  of  enquiry  is  thus  opened  to  philologists,  and  we 
may  here  seek  for  the  means  to  unravel  one  of  the  most 
difficult  questions  connected  with  the  origin  of  the  Ameri- 
can race,  and  the  means  by  which  they  reached  this  con- 
tinent, for  we  never  have  been  among  those  who  believed 
that  America  derived  the  mass  of  her  population,  her  men 
and  animals,  from  Asia,  by  the  way  of  Behring's   Straits. 

The  author  of  a  late  work  on  California,  New  Mexico, 
&c.,  brings  to  our  notice  a  tribe  of  Indians   known  as  the 

*  Histoire  Naturelle  des  Canaries.  Tom  I.  p.  23 


16  THE   PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 

Munchics  (Mawkeys)  or  white  Indians.*  "  This  remark- 
able nation  occupies  a  valley  among  the  Sierra  de  los 
Mimbros  chain  of  mountains,  upon  one  of  the  affluents  of 
the  river  Gila,  in  the  extreme  north-western  part  of  the 
province  of  Sonora.  They  number  about  eight  hundred 
persons.  Their  country  is  surrounded  by  lofty  mountains 
at  nearly  every  point,  is  well  watered  and  very  fertile. 
Their  dwellings  are  excavated  in  the  hill-sides,  and  fre- 
quently cut  in  the  solid  rock.  They  subsist  by  agriculture, 
and  raise  great  numbers  of  horses,  cattle  and  sheep. 
Among  them  are  many  of  the  arts  and  comforts  of  civi- 
lized life.  They  spin  and  weave,  and  make  butter  and 
cheese,  with  many  of  the  luxuries  known  to  more  enlight- 
ened nations.  Their  government  is  after  the  patriarchal 
order,  and  is  purely  republican  in  its  character.  In  morals 
they  are  represented  as  honest  and  virtuous.  In  religion 
they  differ  but  little  from  other  Indians.  Their  features 
correspond  with  those  of  Europeans,  with  a  fair  complex- 
ion and  a  form  equally  if  not  more  graceful.  In  regard 
to  their  origin,  they  have  lost  all  knowledge  or  even  tra- 
dition; neither  do  their  characters,  manners,  customs, 
arts  or  government  savor  of  modern  Europe." 

Another  tribe  of  Indians  called  the  Navijos,  of  whom 
we  know  but  little,  except  that  they  have  long  had  a  place 
on  the  maps,  is  noticed  by  the  same  author.  They  occu- 
py the  country  between  the  Del  Norte  and  the  Sierra 
Anahuac,  in  the  province  of  Sonora,  and  have  never 
succumbed  to  Spanish  domination.  "  They  possess  a 
civilization  of  their  own.  Most  of  them  live  in  houses 
built  of  stone,  and  cultivate  the  ground — raising  vegetables 
and  grain  for  a  subsistence.  They  also  raise  large  num- 
bers of  horses,  cattle  and  sheep — make  butter  and  cheese, 
and  spin  and  weave." 

The  blankets  manufactured  by  these  Indians  are  supe- 


*  Scenes  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Oregon,  California,  &c.,  bj'  a   New  Eng- 
ender,    p.  198. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  17 

nor  in  beauty  of  color,  texture  and  durability  to  the  fabrics 
of  their  Spanish  neighbors.  Their  government  is  in  strict 
accordance  with  the  welfare  of  the  whole  community.  Dis- 
honesty is  held  in  check  by  suitable  regulations,  industry 
is  encouraged  by  general  consent,  and  hospitality  by 
common  practice.  As  warriors  they  are  brave  and  daring, 
making  frequent  and  bold  excursions  into  the  Spanish 
settlements,  driving  off  herds  of  cattle,  horses  and  sheep, 
and  spreading  terror  and  dismay  on  every  side.  As 
diplomatists,  in  imitation  of  their  neighbors,  they  make 
and  break  treaties  whenever  interest  and  inclination 
prompts  them.* 

The  Navijo  country  is  shut  in  by  high  mountains,  inac- 
cessible from  without,  except  by  limited  passes  through 
narrow  defiles,  well  situated  for  defence  on  the  appi'oach 
of  an  invadinof  foe.  Availing  themselves  of  those  natural 
advantages,  they  have  continued  to  maintain  their  ground 
against  fearful  odds,  nor  have  they  suffered  the  Spaniards 
to  set  foot  within  their  territory  as  conquerors. 

The  relations  above  given  of  the  Mawkeys  and  Navijos 
(pronounced  Navihoes,  and  sometimes  so  written,)  corres- 
pond with  the  accounts  that  from  time  to  time  have  been 
brought  to  us,  by  hunters  and  trappers  who  have  occasion- 
ally visited  them.  A  few  years  since  there  appeared  in 
the  newspapers  an  account  of  both  these  tribes,  by  a 
trapper.  He  stated  that  the  Mawkeys  had  "  light,  flaxen 
hair,  blue  eyes  and  skins  of  the  most  delicate  whiteness."! 
I  have  two  other  accounts  wherein  both  are  described 
much  as  before  stated.  Their  manufactures  are  particu- 
larly dwelt  upon.  Some  of  them  wore  shoes,  stockings 
and  other  garments  of  their  own  make.  Their  stone  houses 
are  noticed  as  well  as  their  large  herds  of  cattle, — also 
their   cultivation  of  fruits   and  vegetables.      Tlie}'-  raise 

*  Scenes  in  the   Rocky   Mountains,   California,  &.c.  by  a  New  EnglanUcr. 
p.  180. 

t  Auburn  (New  York)  Banner,  1837, 

2* 


18  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

cotton,  which  they  manufacture  into  cloth,  as  well  as 
wool.  Fire  arms  are  unknown  to  them.  "  Their  dress 
is  different  from  that  of  other  Indians,  and  from  their 
Spanish  neighbors.  Their  shirts,  coats  and  waistcoats 
are  made  of  wool,  and  their  small  clothes  and  gaiters  of 
deer  skin." 

These  accounts  might  be  considered  fancifiil,  had  we 
not  high  authority  which  fully  corroborates  them.  Hum- 
boldt says,*  "  The  Indians  between  the  rivers  Gila  and 
Colorado,  form  a  contrast  with  the  wandering  and  dis- 
trustful Indians  of  the  savannas  to  the  east  of  New  Mexico. 
Father  Garces  visited  the  countiy  of  the  Moqui,  and  was 
astonished  to  find  there  an  Indian  town  with  two  great 
squares,  houses  of  several  stories,  and  streets  well  laid  out, 
and  parallel  to  one  another.  The  construction  of  the 
edifices  of  the  Moqui  is  the  same  with  that  of  the  Casas 
grandes  on  the  banks  of  the  Gila." 

In  Mr.  Farnham's  late  work  on  California,  is  a  notice 
of  the  Navijos  from  Dr.  Lyman's  report.  The  author 
begins  by  saying,  that  t"  they  are  the  most  civilized  of  all 
the  wild  Indians  of  North  America."  Their  extensive 
cultivation  of  maize  and  all  kinds  of  vegetables — their 
rearing  of  "  large  droves  of  magnificent  horses,  equal  to 
the  finest  horses  of  the  United  States  in  appearance  and 
value,"  and  their  large  flocks  of  sheep  are  also  noticed. 
From  the  fleece  of  the  sheep  which  is  long  and  coarse 
resembling  mohair,  "  they  manufacture  blankets  of  a  tex- 
turn  so  firm  and  heavy  as  to  be  perfectly  impervious  to 
water."  They  make  a  variety  of  colors  with  which  they 
dye  their  cloths,  besides  weaving  them  in  stripes  and 
figures.  They  are  constantly  at  war  with  the  Mexicans, 
bat  stand   in  fear  of  the  American  trappers,  with  whom 


*  Political  Essay  on  New  Spain.  Vol.  2,  p.  315.  (London  ed.  in  4  vols.  8vo.) 
t  Life  and  Travels  in  California,     p.  372. 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY.  10 

they  have  had  some    severe  skirmishes,  which  resulted 
much  to  their  disadvantage.* 

It  is  beheved  by  Baron  Humboldt  and  by  others,  that 
in  the  Navijos  and  Mawkeys  we  see  the  descendants  of 
the  same  race  of  Indians  which  Cortez  and  the  Spanish 
conquerors  found  in  Mexico,  in  a  semi-civilized  state. 
We  are  unable  to  state  whether  any  affinity  exists  between 
their  language  and  the  other  Mexican  dialects,  as  no  vocab- 
ularies have  been  collected.  The  whiteness  of  their  skins, 
their  knowledge  of  the  useful  arts  and  agriculture,  and  the 
mechanical  skill  exhibited  in  their  edifices  at  the  present 
day,  bear  a  striking  analogy  with  the  Mexican  people  at 
the  period  of  the  conquest,  and  as  M.  Humboldt  observes, 
♦'appears  to  announce  traces  of  the  cultivation  of  the 
ancient  Mexicans."  The  Indians  have  a  tradition  that 
20  leagues  north  from  the  Moqui,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Rio 
Zaguananas,  the  banks  of  the  Nabajoa  were  the  first  abode 
of  the  Aztecs  after  their  departure  from  Atzlan.  "  On 
considering  the  civilization,"  adds  Baron  Humboldt, 
"  which  exists  on  several  points  ot  the  north-west  coast  ot 
America,  in  the  Moqui  and  on  the  banks  of  the  Gila,  we 
are  tempted  to  believe  (and  I  venture  to  repeat  it  here) 
that  at  the  period  of  the  migration  of  the  Toltecs,  the 
Acolhues  and  the  Aztecs,  several  tribes  separated  from 
the  great  mass  of  the  people  to  establish  themselves  in 
these  northern  regions."t 


*Dr.  Lyman  states,  that  "  in  the  autumn  of  1841,  an  American  trader  with 
thirty-five  men,  went  from  Bents  fort  to  the  Navijo  country,  buih  a  breastwork 
with  his  bales  of  goods,  and  informed  the  astonished  Indians,  that  he  had  '  come 
into  their  country  to  trade  or  fight,  which  ever  they  preferred.'  The  campaigns 
of  the  old  trappers  were  too  fresh  in  their  memory  to  allow  hesitation.  They 
chose  to  trade,  and  soon  commenced  a  brisk  business." 

t  Humboldt's  Political  Essay  on  New  Spain.  Vol.  2,  p.  316.  On  the  testi- 
mony of  the  missionaries  of  the  Collegia  de  Quereiaro,  versed  in  the  Aztec  lan- 
guage, M.  Humboldt  states,  that  the  language  spoken  by  the  Moqui  Indians  is 
essentially  different  from  the  Mexican  language.  In  the  seventeenth  century 
missionaries  were  established  amoug  the  Moquis  and  Navijos,  who  were  massa- 
sacred  in  the  great  revolt  of  the  Indians  in  1680. 


20  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

Connected  with  this  subject  and  in  evidence  of  the  iden- 
tity of  these  tribes  with  the  Aztecs,  it  should  be  stated 
that  there  exists  numerous  edifices  of  stone  in  a  ruined 
stale,  on  the  banks  of  the  Gila,  some  of  great  extent,  re- 
sembhng  the  terraced  edifices  and  teocaUis  of  Mexico  and 
Yucatan.  One  of  these  structures  measures  four  hundred 
and  forty-five  feet  in  length  by  two  hundred  and  seventy 
in  breath,  with  walls  four  feet  in  thickness.  It  was  three 
stories  high,  with  a  terrace.  The  whole  surrounding 
plain  is  covered  with  broken  pottery  and  earthen  ware, 
painted  in  various  colors.  Vestiges  of  an  artificial  canal 
are  also  to  be  seen.*  Among  the  fragments  are  found 
pieces  of  obsidian,  a  volcanic  substance  not  common  to  the 
country,  and  which  is  also  found  in  the  mounds  in  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Ohio  valleys,  in  both  cases  applied  to  the 
same  uses. 

Some  valuable  contributions  to  the  geography  and  eth- 
nology of  the  vast  region  lying  between  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains and  Upper  California  and  Oregon,  have  been  made 
by  Capt.  Fremont  of  the  U.  S.  corps  of  Engineers.  The 
expedition  under  his  command  traversed  the  great  desert, 
and  examined  portions  of  the  country  not  before  visited 
by  white  men.  The  information  collected  by  this  enter- 
prising traveller  will  be  of  much  service  to  the  country  in 
the  new  relations  which  may  arise  between  the  United 
States  and  California,  as  well  as  to  persons  who  are  seek- 
ing new  homes  in  Oregon.  The  report  of  Captain,  (now 
Col.)  Fremont  has  been  so  widely  circulated,  and  rendered 
so  accessible  to  all  who  feel  an  interest  in  the   subject, 

*  Clavigero,  Hist.  Mexico.  Vol.  1,  p.  151.  Humboldt's  Polit.  Essay  on  New 
Spain,  Vol.  2.  p.  300.  A  n^ore  detailed  account  of  these  remains,  may  be  found 
in  the  Ajjpendix  to  Castaneda's  "  Relation  du  Voyage  de  Cibola  en  1540,"  pub- 
lished in  the  " Selations  et  memoirs originaux"  of  Ternaux-Compans.  The  state 
of  the  country,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  and  their  peculiar  state 
of  civilization  are  given  at  length,  and  are  interesting  in  this  enquiry.  The  no- 
tice of  the  "  Grande  Maison,  dite  de  ilfoeiezmna,"  is  extracted  from  the  journal 
of  Father  Pedro  Font,  who  traversed  this  country  to  Monterey,  on  the  Pacific,  in 
1775. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  21 

that  it  would  be  superfluous  to  give  any  analysis  of  the 
work  at  this  time.  So  satisfactory  were  the  results  of  the 
expedition  of  this  accomphshed  officer  to  the  country  and 
the  government,  that  he  has  again  been  sent  to  make  fur- 
ther explorations  of  the  country  south  of  that  previously 
visited  by  him,  and  which  lies  between  Santa  F^  and 
the  Pacific  Ocean.  Colonel  Fremont  has  in  this  ex- 
pedition already  rendered  important  services  to  the 
country,  having  the  command  of  a  detachment  of  troops 
in  Upper  California.  This  armed  body  of  men  will  give 
him  great  advantages  over  an  ordinary  traveller  in  a  wild 
and  inhospitable  count ly,  where  there  are  still  tribes  of 
Indians  which  have  not  yet  been  subjugated  by  the  Span- 
iards, and  which  an  unprotected  traveller  could  not  ap- 
proach. Much  interest  has  been  awakened  from  the  ac- 
counts already  received  from  Col.  Fremont,  and  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  ere  long  we  shall  be  placed  in  possession  of 
full  reports  of  his  explorations,  which  must  throw  much 
light  on  the  geography  of  this  vast  region,  its  aboriginal 
inhabitants,  productions,  climate,  &c. 

An  exploratory  journey  in  the  isthmus  of  Panama  has 
recently  been  made  by  M.  Hillert,  which  has  resulted  in 
adding  much  important  information  to  our  previous  know- 
ledge of  the  country.  It  is  known  that  there  have  been 
many  surveys  of  the  isthmus,  with  the  view  of  opening  a 
water  communication  between  the  oceans  on  either  side. 
Such  was  the  primary  object  of  Mr.  Hillert,  who,  it  ap- 
pears has  also  made  enquiries  as  to  the  practicability  of 
making  a  rail  road  across  it.  His  observations  on  the  junc- 
tion of  the  two  oceans  by  means  of  a  canal  have  appeared 
in  the  bulletin  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  Paris  for 
1846,  (pp.  306  and  389,)  together  with  various  letters  from 
him  on  other  subjects  which  attracted  his  attention. 

Among  other  things  Mr.  Hillert  has  made  known  a  most 
valuable  anti-venomous  plant,  the  guaco,  a  creeping  plant, 
which  abounds  in  the  forest  of  the  Isthmus,  the  virtues  of 
which  were  made  known  to  him  by  the  Indians.     After 


22  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

rubbing  the  hands  with  the  leaves  of  this  plant,  a  person 
may  handle  scorpions  and  venomous  insects  with  im- 
punity, and  mosquitoes  after  sucking  the  blood  of  those 
VI' ho  had  taken  it  inwardly  died  instantly.  The  geology 
and  botany  of  the  country  received  particular  attention. 
M.  Hillert  proposes  to  introduce  several  of  the  most  use- 
ful plants  and  vegetables  into  the  French  dominions  in 
Senegal  or  Algeria,  among  them  the  plant  from  which  the 
Panama  hats  are  made.  So  valuable  are  the  labors  of 
this  gentleman  considered,  that  the  French  commission 
has  awarded  him  the  Orleans  prize,  for  having  introduced 
into  France  the  most  useful  improvement  in  agriculture. 
Some  ancient  monumental  edifices  were  discovei'ed  in  the 
Isthmus,  not  far  from  the  river  Atrato,  and  others  near 
the  mines  of  Cano  ;  besides  these  an  ancient  canal  cut 
through  the  solid  rock  in  the  interval  which  separates  the 
the  rivers  Atrato  and  Darien. 


Note. — The  following  list  embraces  all  the  books  relating  to  Oregon,  Califor- 
nia, and  Mexico,  printed  during  the  last  two  years. 

Narrative  of  the  exploring  expedition  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  in  the  year  1842, 
and  to  Oregon  and  North  California,  in  the  years  1843 — 4,  by  Capt.  J.  C.  Fre- 
mont of  the  Topographical  Engineers,  under  the  orders  of  Col.  J.  J.  Abert,  Bvo 
Washington,  1846. 

Exploration  du  Terretoire  de  I'Oregon,  des  Californies,  et  de  la  Mer  Vermeille, 
exeeutie  pendant  les  annees  1840,  41  et  42,  par  M.  Dufiot  de  Mofras,  Attach^  a 
la  Legation  de  France  a  Mexico.  2  vols.  8vo.  and  folio  atlas  of  maps  and  plates, 
Paris.  1845. 

Tho  Oregon  Territory,  claims  thereto,  of  England  and  America  considered, 
its  condition  and  prospects.     By  Alexander  Simpson,  Esq.     8vo.  London,  1846. 

The  Oregon  Territory,  a  geographical  and  physical  account  of  that  country 
and  its  inhabitants.    By  Rev.  C.  G.  Nicholay.     18mo.  London,  1846. 

The  Oregon  Question  determined  by  the  rules  of  International  law.  By  Edward 
J.  Wallace  of  Bombay.     8vo.  London,  1840. 

The  Oregon  question.    By  the  Hon.  Albert  Gallatin.     8vo.  New  York,  1846. 

The  Oregon  Question  examined,  in  respect  to  facts  and  the  laws  of  nations. 
By  Travers  Twiss,  D.  C.  L.     8vo.  London,  1846. 

The  Oregon  Question  as  it  stands.     By  M.  B.  Sampson.  London,  1846. 

Prairiedom  ;  Rambles  and  Scrambles  in  Texas  and  New  Estremadura,  By  a 
Southron.     12mo.  New  York,  1846. 

Life  in  California  during  a  residence  of  several  years  in  that  Territory.  By 
ao  American,     To  which  is  annexed  an  historical  account  of  the  origin,  customs 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  28 

Greenland  and  the  Arctic  Regions.  The  Royal 
Society  of  Northern  Antiquaries  published,  in  1845, 
GriJnlands  Historiske  Mindesmairker,  (The  Historical 
Monuments  of  Greenland,)  Vol.  III.,  (958  pages,  with  12 
copperplates,)  which  closes  this  work.  The  1st  and  2d 
volumes,  (pp.  814  and  794  respectively,)  were  published 
in  1838.  After  Professor  Rafn  had  finished  the  C()m])ihi- 
tion  of  his  separate  work,  Anf.iqidtatcs  AmericancB,  which 
was  published  by  the  Society  in  1837,  he  connected 
himself  with  Professor  Finn  Magnusen,  for  the  purpose  of 
editing — also  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society — the  great 
collection  of  original  written  sources  of  the  ancient  history 
of  that  remarkable  polar  land,  which  was  first  seen  in 
877,  and  colonized  in  986.  With  a  view  of  doing  all  that 
lay  in  its  power  to  throw  light  on  ancient  Greenland,  the 


and  traditions  of  the   Indians  of  Alta  California,  from  the  Spanish.     Post  8vo, 
New  York,  1846. 

An  Essay  on  the  Oregon  Question,  written  for  the  Shakspeare  Club.  By  E.  A. 
Meredith.  Montreal,  1846. 

The  Topic  No.  3.  The  Oregon  Question.  4to.  London,  1846. 
Life  in  Prairie  Land.  By  Mrs.  Eliza  W.  Farnham.  12mo.  New  York,  1846. 
Green's  Journal  of  the  Texan  expedition  against  Mier  ;  subsequent  Imprison- 
ment of  the  Author;  his  Sufferings,  and  final  Escape  from  the  Castle  of  P<?rote. 
With  reflections  upon  the  present  political  and  probable  future  relations  of  Texas, 
Mexico,  and  the  United  States.  Illustrated  by  Drawings  taken  from  Life  by 
Charles  M'Laughlin,  a  Fellow-prisoner.     Engravings,     bivo. 

Travels  over  the  table  lands  and  Cordilleras  of  Mexico,  in  1843 — 4.  With  an 
appendix  on  Oregon  and  California.  By  Albert  M.  Gilliam,  late  U.  S.  Counsul, 
California.     8vo,  Philadelphia,  1846. 

Recollections  of  Mexico.  By  Waddy  Thompson,  Esq.,  late  Minister  Plenipo- 
tentiary of  the  U.  S.  at  Mexico.     8vo.  New  York,  1846. 

Altowan  ;  or  incidents  of  life  and  adventure  in  the  Rocky  Mountains.  By  an 
Amateur  Traveller.  Edited  by  James  Watson  Webb.  2  vol.  12mo.  New 
York,  1846. 

Scenes  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  Oregon,  California,  New  Mexico,  Texas,  and 
Grand  Prairies,  including  descriptions  of  the  different  races  inhabiting  them,  (fee- 
By  a  New  Englander.     12mo.  Philadelphia,  1846. 

History  of  Oregon  and  California,  and  the  other  Territories  on  the  North 
West  Coast  of  North  America  :  from  their  discovery  to  the  prt-sent  day.  Ac- 
companied by  a  geograpical  view  of  those  countries.  By  Robert  Greenhow,  8va. 
third  edition.   Boston,  1847. 


24  THR  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

Society,  during  the  ten  years  from  1832  to  1841,  caused 
journies  to  be  undertaken  and  explorations  to  be  performed 
in  such  of  the  Greenland  firths  as  were  of  the  greatest  im- 
portance in  respect  of  the  ancient  colonization.  By  ex- 
cavations made  among  the  ruins  remaining  from  the 
ancient  colony,  there  was  obtained  a  collection  of  inscrip- 
tions and  other  antiquities,  which  are  now  preserved  in 
the  American  Museum  erjscted  by  the  Society,  and  draw- 
ings were  taken  of  the  ground  plans  of  several  edifices. 
Of  the  reports  received  on  this  occasion,  we  must  in  an 
especial  manner  notice,  as  exhibiting  evidence  of  the  most 
assiduous  care,  and  as  moreover  embracing  the  most 
important  part  of  the  country,  the  exploration  undertaken 
by  the  Rev.  George  T.  Joergensen,  of  the  firths  of  Iga- 
likko  and  Tunnudluarbik,  where  the  most  considerable 
ruins  are  situated.  The  present,  vol.  III.,  contains,  extracts 
from  annals,  and  a  collection  of  Documents  relating  to 
Greenland,  compiled  by  Finn  Magnusen  ;  (to  this  part  ap- 
pertains a  plate  exhibiting  seals  of  the  Greenland  Bishops ;) 
ancient  geographical  writings,  compiled  by  Finn  Magnu- 
sen and  CharJes  C.  Rafn ;  the  voyages  of  the  brothers 
Zeno,  with  introductory  remarks  and  notes  by  Dr.  Breds- 
doi-ff;  a  view  of  more  recent  voyages  for  the  re-discovery 
of  Greenland,  by  Dr.  C.  Pingel,  an  antiquarian  chorogra- 
phy  of  Greenland,  drawn  up  by  J.  J.  A.  Warsaae,  from 
the  accounts  furnished  by  various  travellers  of  the  explo- 
rations undertaken  by  them.  The  work  is  closed  by  a 
view  of  the  ancient  geography  of  Greenland,  by  Professor 
Charles  C.  Rafn,  based  on  a  collation  of  the  notices  con- 
tained in  the  ancient  manuscripts  and  the  accounts  of  the 
country  furnished  by  the  travellers.  To  which  is  added 
a  list  of  the  bishops  and  a  chronological  conspectus  of  the 
ancient  and  modern  history  of  the  countiy,  a  historical  in- 
dex of  names,  a  geographical  index,  and  an  antiquarian 
index  rerum.  Copperplate  maps  are  annexed  of  the  two 
most  important  district^of  ancient  Greenland — the  eastern 
settlement,    (Eystribygd,)    and    the  western  settlement, 


TflE    PROGRESS   OF    ETHNOLOGY.  25 

(Vestrihygd,)  exhibiting  tlic  position  of  the  numerous  ruins. 
Moreover,  plans  and  elevations  of  the  most  important 
ecclesiastical  ruins  and  other  rudera  ;  also  delineations  of 
of  runic  stones  and  other  northern  antiquities  found  in 
Greenland. 

Scripta  Historica  Islandorum,  latine  redditaet  apparatu  cri- 
lico  instructa,  curante  Societate  Regia  Antiquariorum  Sep- 
tentrionalium.  Vol.  XII.  The  edition  first  commenced  by 
the  Society,  of  the  historical  Sas^as  recording  events  which 
happened  out  of  America,  (Iceland,  Greenland  and  Vin- 
land,)  particularly  in  Norway,  Sweden  and  Denmark,  in  the 
original  Icelandic  text  with  two  translations,  one  into  Latin, 
and  another  into  Danish,  (36  vols.)  has  now  been  brought 
to  a  completion,  by  the  publication  of  the  above  men- 
tioned volume,  (pp.  658  in  8vo.)  wherein  are  contained 
Regesta  Geographica  to  the  whole  work,  which  for  this 
large  cyclus  of  Sagas  may  be  considered  as  tantamount  to 
an  old  northern  geographical  gazetteer,  in  as  much  as 
attention  has  also  been  paid  to  other  old  northern  manu- 
scripts of  importance  in  a  geographical  point  of  view. 
Complete,  however,  it  cannot  by  any  means  be  called, 
neither  as  regards  Iceland  especially  and  other  lands  in 
America,  whose  copious  historical  sources  have,  in  tlie 
present  instance,  been  but  partially  made  use  of,  nor  also 
as  regards  the  European  countries  without  the  Scandina- 
vian North,  for  whose  remote  history  and  ancient  geogra- 
phy the  old  northern  writings  contain  such  important  ma- 
terials, but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Society  will  in  due 
lime  take  an  opportunity  of  extending  its  labors  in  that 
direction  also.  The  present  volume  does,  however,  con- 
tain a  number  of  names  of  places  situated  witiiout  the 
bounds  of  Scandinavia  in  countries  of  which  mention  is 
made  in  the  writings  published  in  the  work  itself.  To 
the  name  of  each  place  is  annexed  its  Icelandic  or  old 
Danish  form,  and  the  position  of  the  place  is  investigated 
by  means  of  comparison  with  other  historical  data  and 
with  modern  geography. 
3 


26  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

Sir  John  Franklin  who  left  about  two  years  on  a  voyage 
of  exploration,  in  the  Arctic  regions  of  America,  remains 
in  those  inhospitable  parts.  Much  anxiety  is  felt  for  him 
as  no  tidings  have  been  received  from  him.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  his  voyage  will  prove  successful  and  that  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  present  year,  he  may  return. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  has  lately  fitted  out  an 
expedition,  for  the  purpose  of  surveying  the  unexplored 
portion  of  the  coast  on  the  northeast  angle  of  the  North 
American  continent.  The  expedition,  which  consists  of 
thirteen  persons,  is  under  the  command  of  one  of  the 
company's  officers.  It  started  on  the  5th  July,  in  two 
boats,  under  favorable  circumstances; — the  ice  having 
cleared  away  from  the  shores  of  the  bay  at  an  earlier 
period  of  the  year  than  usual.* 

A  memoir  on  the  Indian  tribes  beyond  the  Rocky 
mountains,  and  particularly  those  along  the  shores  of  the 
Pacific  ocean,  from  California  to  Behring's  straits,  with 
comparative  vocabularies  of  their  languages,  is  preparing 
for  pubhcation  by  the  Hon.  Albert  Gallatin,  from  authen- 
tic materials.  Mr.  Hale,  philologist  of  the  United  States 
Exploring  Expedition,  has  made  a  valuable  contribution 
to  the  Ethnology  of  this  region,  in  his  volume,  entitled 
•'  Ethnology  and  Philology,"  being  the  seventh  volume  of 
the  U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition. t 


*  Report  to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  London,  Nov.  9,  1846. 

t  Recent  Works  on  the  Arctic  Regions. 

Barrow's  (Sir  J.)  Voyages  of  Discovery  and  Research  within  the  Arctic  Re- 
gions, from  the  year  1818  to  the  present  time,  in  search  o(  a  north-west  passage, 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific ;  with  two  attempts  to  reach  the  North  Pole . 
Abridged  from  the  official  narratives,  with  remarks  by  Sir  John  Barrow.  Bvo. 
London,  1846. 

Americas  Arctiske  landes  gamle  geographic  efter  de  Nordiske  Oldskriefter 
ved  C.  C.  Rafn.     Bvo.     Copenhagen,  1846. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  27 


SOUTH    AMERICA. 


The  French  expedition  which  has  been  engaged  for 
the  last  three  years  in  exploring  the  interior  of  South 
America,  has  at  length  reached  Lima,  from  which  place 
Count  Castelnau  has  transmitted  a  detailed  report  of  his 
journey,  to  the  French  Minister  of  Public  Instruction.* 

This  expedition  is  by  far  the  most  important  that  has 
yet  been  sent  out  for  the  exploration  of  South  America, 
and  has  already  traversed  a  large  portion  of  its  central 
parts,  little  known  to  geographers.  Their  first  journey 
was  across  the  country  from  Rio  Janeiro  to  Goyaz,  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  river  Araguay  (Lat.  16°  11'  S.  Long. 
50°  29'  W.)  which  river  they  descended  to  its  junction 
with  the  Tocantiu,  and  then  returned  by  the  last  named 
river  and  the  desert  of  the  Chavantes. 

They  made  another  journey  to  the  north  of  Cuyaba,  to 
explore  the  diamond  mines,  and  examine  the  sources  of 
the  Paraguay  and  Arenos.  In  the  next  journey, t  the  par- 
ticulars of  which  have  just  been  communicated  from 
Lima,  the  expedition  descended  the  rivers  Cuyaba  and 
San  Lorenzo  to  Paraguay.  During  this  voyage  they  en- 
tered the  country  of  the  Guatos  Indians,  one  of  the  most 
interesting  tribes  of  the  American  aborigines.  "  The 
features  of  these  Indians."  says  the  Count,  "  are  extreme- 
ly interesting  ; — never  in  my  life  having  seen  finer,  or  any 
more  widely  differing  from  the  ordinary  type  of  the  red 
man.  Their  large,  well  opened  eyes,  with  long  lashes, 
nose  aquiline  and  admirably  modelled,  and  a  long,  black 
beard,  would  make  them  one  of  the  finest  races  in  the 
world,  had  not  their  habit  of  stooping  in  the  canoe  bowed 
the  legs  of  the  greater  number.     Their  arms,  consisting 

*  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages.     Feb.  1846.     p.  146. 
t  London  Athenccum,  Aug.  8,  1846,  in  which  is  a  condensed  account  of  this 
journey. 


28  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

of  very  large  bows,  with  arrows  seven  feet  long,  demand 
great  bodily  strength — and  their  address  in  the  use  of 
them  passes  imagination.  These  savages  are  timid, 
nevertheless,  and  of  extreme  mildness.  By  taking  them 
for  our  guides,  and  attaching  them  by  small  presents,  we 
were  enabled  to  explore  parts  wholly  unknown,  of  that  vast 
net-work  of  rivers  which  they  are  constantly  traversing." 
In  Paraguay  the  party  met  a  tribe  of  the  celebrated  Guay- 
curus  nation.  These  people  are  eminently  equestrian- 
transporting  their  baggage,  women  and  effects  of  eveiy  kind 
on  horseback,  across  the  most  arid  deserts.  They  are  mor- 
tal foes  to  the  Spaniards,  and  a  terror  to  the  whole  frontier. 
They  wear  their  hair  long,  and  paint  themselves,  black 
or  red,  after  a  very  grotesque  and  irregular  fashion  ;  the 
two  sides  of  their  bodies  are  generally  painted  in  a 
different  manner.  "  Their  chief  arms  are  the  lance, 
knife,  and  a  club,  which  they  throw  with  great  precision 
at  a  full  gallop.  Their  hats  are  made  of  hides.  Each 
warrior  has  his  mark,  which  he  burns  with  a  red  hot  iron 
on  all  that  belongs  to  him — his  horses,  dogs  and  even 
wives.  One  of  the  most  atrocious  traits  in  the  manners 
of  this  people,  is  that  of  putting  to  death  all  children  bom 
of  mothers  under  thirty  years  of  age." 

After  traversing  the  country  between  Paraguay  and 
Brazil,  the  expedition  proceeded  north  by  the  river  Para- 
guay, and  passed  the  mouths  of  the  San  Lorenzo,  where 
it  entered  the  great  lake  Gaiva,  and  from  thence  the 
greater  lake  Uberava,  the  limits  of  which  could  not  be 
traced,  being  lost  in  the  horizon.  An  Indian  told  the 
Count  that  he  had  travelled  for  three  whole  days  in  his 
canoe,  without  finding  its  extremit}),  which  supposes  a 
length  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  leagues.  This  great  inland 
sea  is  unknown  to  geographers.  At  Villa  Maria  a  cara- 
van of  mules  awaited  the  travellers,  when  they  entered 
the  desert  or  Gran  Chaco,  as  it  is  called,  and  proceeded 
to  the  town  of  Matto-Grosso,  which  is  considered  the  most 
pestiferous  place  in  the  world.     Out  of  a  population  of 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  29 

1200  souls,  there  were  found  but  four  whites,  of  whom 
three  were  officers  of  the  government ;  all  the  rest  was 
composed  of  blacks  and  Indians  of  every  variety  and  color, 
who  alone  are  able  to  support  this  terrible  climate. 

From  this  place  the  expedition  proceeded  to  Santa 
Cruz  of  the  Sierra,  where  thc}^  found  bread,  of  which 
they  had  been  deprived  for  two  years  ;  after  a  month's 
repose,  a  journey  of  eight  days  brought  the  pnrty  to  Chu- 
quisaca,  in  Bolivia,  and  from  thence  b}^  Potosi  to  Jjima. 

The  results  of  this  expedition  are  already  of  gicat  in- 
terest. It  will  make  known  people,  the  names  of  which 
were  unknown  to  geographers.  Rivers  which  appear  on 
our  maps  are  found  not  to  exist,  while  hitherto  unknown 
rivers  and  large  bodies  of  water  have  been  discovered. 
Many  geographical  positions  have  been  determined,  and 
the  particulars  of  the  trade  which  is  extensively  carried 
on  in  the  centre  of  this  vast  continent  by  means  of  cara- 
vans of  mules,  are  made  known. 

M.  de  Castelnau  has  paid  particular  attention  to  the 
productions  of  the  country,  with  a  view  of  introducing 
such  as  are  valuable  into  the  French  colony  of  Algeria. 
Large  collections  in  Natural  History  have  already  been 
received  at  the  museum  in  Paris  ;  observations  on  ter- 
restrial magnetism  and  meteorology  have  been  made, 
in  fact,  no  department  of  science  seems  to  have  been  neg- 
lected by  the  expedition,  which  will  reflect  great  credit 
on  its  distinguished  head.  Count  Castelnau,  as  well  as 
on  the  French  government,  by  whose  liberality  and  zeal 
for  the  promotion  of  science  it  has  been  supported. 

From  Lima,  Count  Castlenau  intended  to  prosecute 
further  researches  in  the  country  of  the  Incas,  after  which 
he  would  proceed  to  the  Amazon  river. 

Peru.  Some  interesting  remains  of  the  ancient  Peru- 
vians, have  lately  been  brought  to  light  in  the  Province  of 
Chachapoyas,  about  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles  nortli  of 
Lima  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  coast. 
The  particulars  of  these  ruins  were  communicated  by 
3* 


80  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

Senor  Nieto  to  the  prefect  ol  the  Department.*  "  The 
principal  edifice  is  an  immense  wall  of  hewn  stone,  three 
thousand  six  hundred  feet  in  length,  five  hundred  and 
sixty  feet  in  width  and  one  hundred  feet  high.t  It  is 
solid  in  the  interior  and  level  on  the  top,  upon  which  is 
another  wall  six  hundred  feet  in  length,  of  the  same 
breadth  and  height  as  the  former,  and  like  it  solid  to 
its  summit.  In  this  elevation,  and  also  in  that  of  the 
lower  wall,  are  a  great  many  rooms  eighteen  feet  long  and 
fifteen  wide,  in  which  are  found  neatly  constructed  niches, 
containing  bones  of  the  ancient  dead,  some  naked  and 
some  in  shrouds  or  blankets,"  placed  in  a  sitting  posture. 

From  the  base  of  this  structure  "  commences  an  inclined 
plane  gradually  ascending  to  its  summit,  on  which  is  a 
small  watch  tower.  From  this  point,  the  whole  of  the 
plain  below,  with  a  considerable  part  of  the  province-, 
including  the  capital,  eleven  leagues  distant,  may  be  seen. 

In  the  second  wall  or  elevation  are  also  openings  re- 
sembling ovens,  six  feet  high,  and  from  20  to  30  feet  in 
circumference.  In  these,  skeletons  were  found.  The 
cavities  in  the  adjoining  mountain  were  found  to  contain 
heaps  of  human  remains  perfectly  preserved  in  their 
shrouds,  which  were  made  of  cotton  of  various  colors.  Still 
farther  up  this  mountain  was  "a  wall  of  square  stones, 
with  small  apertures  like  windows,  but  which  could  not 
be  reached  without  a  ladder,"  owing  to  a  perpendicular 
rock  which  intervened.  The  Indians  have  a  superstitious 
horror  of  the  place,  in  consequence  of  the  mummies  it 
contains,  and  refused  to  assist  the  exploring  party,  believ- 
ing that  fatal  diseases  would  be  produced  by  touching 
these  ghastly  remains  of  their  ancestors.  They  were 
therefore  compelled  to  abandon  their  researches,  though 
surrounded  by  objects  of  antiquity  of  great  interest. 


*  Simmond's  Colonial  Magazine.     Vol.  V.   p.  87. 

t  There  is  evidently  some  mistake  in  these  dimensions,  which  would  give  a  mass 
of  masonry  many  times  larger  than  the  great  pyramid  at  Ghizeh, 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  31 

Mr.  Chas.  Frederick  Neumann,  a  distinguished  oriental 
scholar  of  Munich,  has  lately  published  a  work  "  On  the 
Condition  of  Mexico  in  the  Fifth  Centuiy  of  our  Era,  ac- 
cording to  Chinese  writers."  It  purports  to  be  an  account 
of  that  country,  called  Fu-Sang,  in  the  Chinese  annals. 
De  Guignes,  in  his  celebrated  work  on  China,  supposes 
that  America  was  the  country  referred  to,  while  Klaproth, 
on  the  contraiy,  believes  it  to  be  Japan. 

It  is  stated  in  the  English  papers*  that  an  expedition, 
which  promises  the  most  important  results,  both  to  science 
and  commerce,  is  at  this  moment  fitting  out  for  the  pur- 
pose of  navigating  some  of  the  great  unexplored  rivers  of 
South  America.  It  is  to  be  under  the  command  of  Lord 
Ranelagh  ;  and  several  noblemen  and  gentlemen  have 
already  volunteered  to  accompany  his  lordship.  The 
enterprising  and  scientific  band  will  sail  as  soon  as  the 
necessary  arrangements  are  completed.     He  proposes  to 


*  London  Athenaeum,  Nov.  9.  1846. 

Note. — The  following  is  a  list  of  the  books  relating  to  South  America  which 
have  recently  been  published. 

Historia  fisica  y  politica  de  Chile  segun  documentos  adquiredos  en  esta  Re- 
publica  durante  doze  anos  de  residencia  en  alia,  y  publicada  bajo  los  auspicios 
del  supremo  gobierno.     7  livr.    8vo.  with  an  Atlas  of  27  plates.     Paris.  1844. 

Memoria  geografico  economico-politica  del  departmento  de  Venezuela,  publi- 
cada en  1824  por  el  intendente  de  ejercito  D.  Jose  M.  Aurrecoechea,  quicn  la 
reimprime  con  varias  notas  aclaratorias  y  un  apendice.    Quarto.    Madrid.  1846. 

Twenty-four  years  in  the  Argentine  Republic,  embracing  the  author's  per- 
sonal adventures,  with  the  history  of  the  country,  &c.  &c.,  with  the  circumstan- 
ces which  led  to  the  interposition  of  England  and  France.  By  Col.  J.  A, 
King.     1  vol.  12mo.     New  York.  1846. 

Travels  in  the  interior  of  Brazil,  principally  through  the  northern  iirovinces, 
and  the  gold  and  diamond  districts,  in  1836 — 1841.  By  George  Canning. 
8vo.     London.  1846. 

Travels  in  Peru,  during  the  years  1838 — 1842,  on  the  coast,  and  in  the 
Sierra,  across  the  Cordilleras  and  the  Andes,  into  the  primeval  forests.  By  Dr. 
J.  J.  Tschudi.     2  vols.  12mo.     New  York.   1847. 

Mr.  Thomas  Ewbank  is  preparing  for  the  press  a  work  on  Brazil,  being  obser- 
vations made  during  a  twelve  months'  residence  in  that  country.  From  a 
personal  acquaintance  with  this  gentleman,  his  reputation  as  a  man  of  observa- 
tion, and  his  well  known  capacity  as  a  writer,  we  think  a  valuable  book  mny 
be  expected. 


32  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

penetrate,  by  some  of  the  great  tributaries  of  the  Amazon, 
into  the  interior  of  Bohvar — for  which  purpose  a  steamer 
will  be  taken  out  in  pieces.  Returning  to  the  Amazon, 
he  will  ascend  this  great  river  to  its  highest  sources.  The 
distance  and  means  of  communication  between  the  Pacific 
and  the  basin  of  the  Amazon  will  be  minutely  examined. 

Another  scientific  expedition  has  been  sent  out  by  the 
French  Government  to  its  West  India  colonies  and  the 
northerly  parts  of  South  America,  under  M.  Charles  De- 
ville,  a  report  from  whom  was  read  at  a  meeting  of  the  Paris 
Academy  of  Sciences  in  June  last.  Its  publication  was 
recommended. 

The  French  Government  gave  notice  to  the  same 
Academy,  at  its  meeting  on  the  31st  August  last,  of  an  in- 
tended expedition  by  Lieut.  Tardy  Montravel,  to  the 
Amazon  river  and  its  branches,  with  the  steamer  Alecton 
and  the  Astrolabe  corvette  ;  and  invited  the  Academy  to 
prepare  a  programme  with  a  view  to  facilitate  the  re- 
searches which  M.  de  Montravel  is  charged  to  make. 


AFRICA. 

The  zeal  which  was  manifested  a  few  years  since  for 
the  discovery  and  exploration  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  and 
which  seemed  to  have  terminated  with  the  Landers,  and 
the  unsuccessful  voyage  of  the  steamers  up  the  Niger,  has 
again  shown  itself,  and  we  now  find  as  much  curiosity 
awakened,  and  as  much  zeal  manifested  for  geograpical 
discovery  in  this  vast  continent,  and  the  solution  of  ques- 
tions for  ages  in  doubt,  as  has  been  exhibited  at  any  for- 
mer period. 

The  Travels  of  M.  d'Abaddie,  Dr.  Beke,  Isenberg,  and 
others  make  known  to  us  the  immense  extent  and  windings 
of  the  Bahr-el-Abiad  and  the  Bahr-el-Azrek,  or  the  white 
and  blue  Nile,  but  they  have  not  yet  been  traced  to  their 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGV.  'i3 

rise,  and  the  solution  of  the  question  of  the  true  source  of 
the  Nile,  remains  still  unsettled. 

We  have  received  from  Mr.  Jomard,  member  of  the 
French  Institute,  a  work  entitled  "  Observations  sur.  le 
voyage  au  Darfour"  from  an  account  given  by  the  Sheikh 
Mohammed-el-Tounsy,  accompanied  by  a  vocabulary 
of  the  language  of  the  people,  and  remarks  on  the  white 
Nile  by  Mi-.  Jomard.  This  is  a  valuable  contribution  to 
our  knowledge  of  a  portion  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  only 
known  to  us  by  the  visit  of  Mr.  Browne  in  1794,  and  foiins 
a  link  in  the  chain  between  Lake  Tchad  and  a  region  of 
country  quite  unexplored,  and  of  which  we  have  no  know- 
ledge whatever. 

We  have  some  information  of  interest,  relating  to  Sene- 
gal, communicated  to  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of 
London,*  being  a  narrative  of  Mr.  Thomson,  linguist  to 
the  Church  Missionary  Society  at  Sierra  Leone,  from  that 
place  to  Timbo,  the  capital  of  Futah  .Jallo.  His  place  is 
about  four  hundred  miles  northeast  of  Sierra  Leone.  "  The 
principal  object  of  the  mission,  was  to  open  a  road  for  a 
regular  line  of  traffic  through  that  country,  between  the 
colony  and  the  negro  states  on  the  Joliba  or  Niger." 

Mr.  Thomson's  narrative  is  full  of  interest  and  shows 
the  great  hardships  to  be  encountered  in  effecting  a  com- 
munication with  the  interior.  No  man  could  be  better 
prepared  for  such  an  enterprize,  both  by  knowledge  of 
the  languages  of  the  country,  and  the  manners  of  the  peo- 
ple ;  zeal,  perseverance,  and  courage,  also  were  prominent 
traits  in  his  character  ;  yet  his  enterprize  failed  and  death 
cut  him  off,  when  on  the  point  of  starting  for  the  eastward. 

An  expedition  more  sucessful  in  its  results,  has  been 
undertaken  in  Dahomey  on  the  Guinea  coast,  the  particu- 
lars of  which  are  given  in  the  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  London,  (vol,  IG.)  This  journey 
was  performed  by  Mr.  John  Duncan,  from  Cape  Coast  to 


*  Journal  of  the  Geographical  Society.    Vol.  16. 


34  THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 

Whyddah,  and  from  the  latter  about  five  hundred  miles 
due  north,  through  the  Dahomey  country  to  Adofoodiah. 
Although  the  king  of  Ashantee  had  refused  permission  for 
Mr.  Duncan  to  pass  through  his  territory,  and  had  en- 
deavored to  prejudice  the  king  of  Dahomey  against  him, 
he  was  received  with  great  kindness  by  the  latter,  and 
every  facility  given  him  to  travel  in  his  dominions.  A 
guard  of  one  hundred  men  was  furnished  to  accompany 
him — a  path  was  cleared  for  upwards  of  one  hundred 
miles,  and  arrangements  made  so  that  at  every  village 
through  which  he  passed,  provisions  were  always  waiting, 
ready  cooked  for  them.  Among  the  strange  things  seen 
by  this  traveller  was  a  review  of  six  thousand  Female 
troops,  well  armed  and  accoutred.  Their  appearance, 
for  an  uncivilized  nation,  was  surprising,  and  their  per- 
formance still  more  so.  The  slave  trade  is  carried  on  ex- 
tensively in  Dahomey.  In  the  market  of  Adofoodiah,  ar- 
ticles from  the  Mediterranean,  and  from  Bornou  in  the  inter- 
ior were-^exposed  for  sale,  showing  the  immense  extent  of 
the  trade  of  the  country.  He  met  people  from  Timbuctoo 
and  gathered  some  particulars  of  that  remarkable  city,  as 
well  as  some  information  respecting  Mungo  Park's  death. 
This  enterprising  traveller  has  lately  been  provided  with 
the  means  to  enable  him  to  set  out  on  a  new  journey  with 
a  determination  to  penetrate  the  country  to  Timbuctoo, 
from  whence  he  will  endeavour  to  follow  the  Niger  to  its 
mouth. 

The  American  Missionaries  at  the  Gaboon,  (Western 
Africa,)  with  a  view  of  establishing  a  mission  in  the  Pong- 
wee  country  have  been  preparing  a  grammar  of  the  Pong- 
wee  language,  the  pecliarities  of  which  are  such  as  to  de- 
serve notice.  The  Missionaries  call  it  "  one  of  the  most  per- 
fect languages  of  which  they  have  any  knowledge.  It  is  not 
so  remarkable  for  copiousness  of  words  as  for  its  great  and 
almost  unhmited  flexibility.  Its  expansions,  contractions, 
and  inflections  though  exceedingly  numerous,  and  having, 
apparently,  special  reference  to  euphony,  are  all  governed 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  85 

by  grammatical  rules,  which  seem  to  be  well  established 
in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  which  enable  them  to  ex- 
press their  ideas  with,  the  utmost  precision.  How  a  lan- 
guage so  soft,  so  plaintive,  so  pleasant  to  the  ear,  and  at 
the  same  time  so  copious  and  methodical  in  its  inflections, 
should  have  originated,  or  how  the  people  are  enabled  to 
retain  its  multifarious  principles  so  distinctly  in  their  minds 
as  to  express  themselves  with  almost  unvarying  precision 
and,  uniformity,  are  points  which  we  do  not  pretend  to 
settle.  It  is  spoken  coastwise  nearly  two  hundred  miles, 
and  perhaps  with  some  dialectic  differences,  it  reaches  the 
Congo  river.  How  far  it  extends  into  the  interior  is  not 
satisfactorily  known."* 

An  attempt  to  penetrate  this  continent  from  the  north 
has  been  made  by  Mr.  James  Richardson,  by  advices  from 
whom  it  appears  that  on  the  23d  November,  1S45,  he 
had  reached  Ghadames,.in  the  Great  Desert,  where  he 
had  been  residing  for  three  months,  and  whence  he  was 
to  start  on  the  following  day,  with  a  negro  and  a  Moor,  for 
Soudan.  If  sucessful  in  reaching  that  country,  he  intended 
to  proceed  to  Timbuctoo  and  other  parts  of  the  interior. 
Mr.  Richardson  was  well  received  by  the  people  and  Sul- 
tan of  Ghadames ;  but  his  journey  to  Sackatoo  the  capital 
of  Soudan,  which  would  take  three  months  to  accom- 
plish, through  some  of  the  wildest  tribes  and  without  any 
guarantee  from  the  English  or  Ottoman  government,  was 
considered  foolhardy  and  desperate.t 

Later  accounts  state  that  Mr.  Richardson  had  returned 
after  a  successful  exploration  in  the  very  centre  of  the  Great 
Zahara,  and  that  he  has  collected  important  information 
relating  to  the  slave  trade,  one  of  the  objects  of  his  un- 
dertaking. We  shall  look  forward  with  interest  to  the 
publication  of  his  travels.^ 

The  details  of  the  expedition  under  M.  Raffenel  of  the 

*  Missionary  Herald,  vol.  41.  p.  218. 

t  London  Atheneeum,  March  7,  1846.  t  Ibid  Oct.  31,  1846. 


36  THE   PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

French  navy  and  other  scientific  gentlemen^  up  the  Sene- 
gal, have  just  been  pubhshed.*  The  party  ascended  the 
Senegal  to  the  river  Faleme,  and  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Faleme  they  penetrated  the  country  to  Sansanzig.  They 
then  visited  the  gold  mines  of  Kenieba,  on  the  Bambouk, 
the  country  of  Galam,  Bondou  and  Woolli,  and  returned 
by  the  river  Gambia.  Seven  months  were  spent  on  this 
expedition.  They  found  the:;  country  beautiful,  but  its 
cultivation  neglected,  and  of  course  little  was  produced. 
They  visited  the  place  where  the  French  were  for- 
merly established,  with  the  view  of  making  treaties  with 
the  natives  for  its  occupation  anew.  Few  traces  of  the 
colony  were  to  be  found.  They  were  kindly  received  by 
the  various  tribes  oC  aborigines,  wherever  they  went ; 
though  whei>  at  the  extreme  point  of  their  journey,  owing 
to  the  wars  among  the  natives,  they  did  not  think  it  safe 
to  proceed  farther.  The  results,  of  the  expedition  are  in- 
teresting to  science,  as  well  as  to  the  friends  of  humanity, 
who  wish  to  improve  the  condition  of  this  people. 

For  the  more  complete  exploration  of  this  portion  of  the 
African  continent,  it  has  been  proposed  to  send  another 
expedition  under  M.  Raffenel  for  the  purpose.  This  gen- 
tleman has  submitted  a  memoir  to  the  Minister  of  Marine, 
by  whom  it  was  presented  to  the  Geographical  Society 
of  Paris.  The  result  was  favorable,  and  Mr.  Ralfenel 
has  been  provided  with  instructions  for  his  guidance 
in  his  proposed  journey. 

A  journey  of  exploration  and  civilization  in  Soudan,  is 
about  to  be  undertaken  by  four  Jesuits  from  Rome — Bi- 
shop Casolani,  and  Fathers  Ryllo,  Knoblica,  and  Vinco. 
Casolani  and  Ryllo  will  will  start  from  Cairo  in  January, 
1847 — having  previously  obtained  a  Firman  from  Constan- 
tinople ;  and,  proceeding  through  Upper  Egypt,  Nubia, 
and  thence  by  Kordofau  and  Darfour,  they  hope  to  reach 
Bornou, — and   meet  there  their   brethren,  who  travel  by 

*  Bulletin  de  la  Society  de  Geographie.  Rapport  par  M.  Roger.    1846.  p.  321. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  37 

the  way  of  Tripoli  and  Mouiyok.  Should  they  be  fin- 
tunate  enough  to  meet,  it  will  then  be  determined  which 
route  shall  afterwards  be  followed.  They  have  determined 
to  accomplish  what  they  have  undertaken,  or  perish  in  the 
attempt.  From  the  high  character  of  all  the  parties, 
great  hopes  are  entertained  of  the  result  of  this  journey. 
They  are  all  men  of  extensive  learning,  and  familiar  with 
the  languages,  manners  and  customs  of  the  East.* 

A  project  is  on  foot  in  London  and  a  prospectus  has 
been  issued  for  a  new  Expedition  of  Discovery  to  pene- 
trate the  interior  of  Africa  from  the  easteVn  side.  Many 
advantages  are  presented  by  beginning  the  work  of  explo- 
ration here  ;  among  them,  the  populousness  and  civiliza- 
tion of  Eastern  Africa,  which  is  in  general  superior  to  that 
of  the  western  coast.  The  languages  of  the  former  bear  a 
close  affinity  to  each  other,  and  extend  over  a  very  large 
space,  which  is  not  the  case  with  the  latter.  "  The  ab- 
sence of  foreign  influence,  (particularly  of  the  Portuguese, 
by  whom  the  slave  trade  is  carried  on,)  and  the  readiness 
of  the  Sultan  of  Muscat  to  listen  to  British  counsels,"  are 
strong  inducements  to  carry  out  the  scheme  proposed. t 

Lieutenant  Ruxton  of  the  Royal  Navy,  who  has  lately 
made  an  interesting  journey  into  Africa  from  the  south- 
western coast,  near  the  island  of  Ichaboe,  is  about  to 
undertake  a  second  journey  with  the  intention  of  crossing 
the  continent  from  this  point  to  the  eastern  coast,  under 
the  sanction  of  the  British  Government. 

Some  valuable  contributions  have  been  made  to  our 
knowledge  of  the  geography  of  Southern  Africa  by  Mr. 
Cooleyl  and  Mr.    McQueen,§  which  tend  to   elucidate 

*  London  Athenaeum,  July  4, 1846.  t  London  Athenaeum,  July,  1845. 

t  The  Geography  of  N'Yassi,  or  the  Great  Lake  of  Southern  Africa,  investi- 
gated, with  an  account  of  the  overland  route  from  the  Quanza,  in  Angola,  to  the 
Zambezi,  in  the  government  of  Mozambique,  by  Win.  Desbrough  Cooley,  in  the 
Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  London.  Vol.  xv. 

§  Notes  on  African  Geography,  by  James  M'Queen. — Ibid.  Contributions 
towards  the  Geography  of  Africa,  by  James  McQueen,  in  Simmond's  Colonial 
Magazine,  Vol.  vi. 

4 


38  THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY. 

portions  of  this  continent  hitherto  enveloped  in  much  ob- 
scurity. Mr.  Cooley's  investigations  relate  to  the  country 
extending  from  Loango  and  Congo,  the  Portuguese  settle- 
ments in  Western  Africa,  to  the  eastern  coast  between 
Zanzibar  and  Sofala,  in  lat.  20°  South. 

He   commences  by  examining  the   statements   of  the 
Portuguese  geographers  of  the  16th  century,  Lopez,  Joao 
Dos  Santos,  Do  Couto,  and  Pigafetta.     "  The  information 
collected  by  Lopez,  was  elaborated  by   Pigafetta  into  a 
system  harmonizing  with  the  prevalent  opinions  of  the 
age,  and  in  this  form  was  published  in  1591.     Yet  in  the 
midst  of  this  editor's  theories,  we  can  at  times  detect  the 
simple  truth."     Much  confusion  seems  to  have  arisen  by 
misapplying  the  names  of  lakes,  rivers  and  people,  as  this 
inlbrmation  was  in  a  great  degree  derived   from  natives, 
and  not  properly  understood  by  the  persons  who  received 
it  from  them.     Mr.   Cooley,  by   a  rigid  examination  of 
these  various  statements,  together  with  the  accounts  de- 
rived from  later  writers  and  from  native  traders,  has  been 
enabled  to    rectify  the  errors   which  had  crept   in,  and 
clear  up  much  that  had  been  considered  fabulous.     The 
great  lake  called  N'Yassi,  and  the  natives  occupying  the 
country  around  it,  are  among  the  most  interesting  sub- 
jects of  our  author's  enquiries.     This  lake,  or  sea,  as  it  is 
called  by  the  natives,  is  some  five  or  six  hundred  miles 
trom  the   eastern  coast.     Its  breadth   in  some  places  is 
about  fifteen  miles,  while  in  others,  the  opposite  shores 
cannot  be  seen.     Its  length  is  unknown,  neither  extremity 
having  been  traced.     It  probably   exceeds  five  hundred 
miles,  according  to  the  best  authority.     Numerous  islands 
filled  with  a  large  population,   are  scattered  among  its 
waters.     It  is  navigated  by  bark  canoes,  twenty  feet  long, 
capable  of  holding  twenty  persons.     Its  waters  are  fresh, 
and  it  abounds  in  fish.     The  people  seem  more  advanced 
in    civilization   than   any    African   nations    south    of  the 
Equator,  of  which  we  have  knowledge.     Pereira,  who 
spent  six  months   at  Cazembe,   in   1796,    describes  the 
people  as  similar,  in  point  of  civilization,  to  the  Mexicans 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  39 

and  Peruvians,  at  the  time  of  the  conquest.  The  nation 
called  the  Mononioesi,  or  Mucaranga,  north  of  tlie  lake, 
as  well  as  the  Movisa,  on  its  opposite  shores,  are  a  tall  and 
handsome  race,  with  a  brown  complexion.  '*  They  are 
distinguished  for  their  industry,  and  retain  the  commer- 
cial habits  for  which  they  were  noted  two  centuries  and 
a  half  ago,  when  their  existence  was  first  known  through 
the  Portuguese.  They  descend  annually  to  Zanzibar  in 
large  numbers.  The  journey  to  the  coast  and  backagain, 
takes  nine  or  ten  months,  including  the  delay  of  awaiting 
the  proper  season  for  returning.  They  are  clothed  in 
cotton  of  their  own  manufacture  ;  but  the  most  obvious 
mark  of  their  superiority  above  other  nations  of  Eastern 
Africa  is,  that  they  employ  beasts  of  burden,  for  their 
merchandize  is  conveyed  to  the  coast  laden  on  asses  of  a 
fine  breed."  Mr.  Cooley  believes  that  "  the  physical  ad- 
vantages and  superior  civilization  of  these  tribes,  who  are 
not  negroes,"  explain  the  early  reports  which  led  the 
Portuguese  to  believe  that  the  empire  of  Prestor  John 
was  not  far  off. 

Mr.  M'Queen's  memoirs  consist  of  the  details  of  a 
journey  made  by  Lief  Ben  Saeid,  a  native  of  Zanzibar, 
to  the  great  lake  N'Yassi,  or  Maravi,  .alluded  to  in  Mr. 
Cooley's  memoir.  This  visit  was  made  in  the  year  1831. 
The  facts  collected  corroborate  what  has  been  stated  by 
Mr.  Cooley.  He  found  the  country  level,  filled  with  an 
active  population,  civil  to  strangers,  and  honest  in  their 
dealings.  A  very  extensive  trade  was  carried  on  in  ivory, 
and  a  peculiar  oil,  of  a  reddish  color.  The  Manumuse 
(Mono-moezi)  are  pagans,  and  both  sexe§  go  nearly  naked. 
Near  the  lake  there  are  no  horses  or  camels,  but  plenty  of 
asses,  and  a  few  elephants.  The  houses  on  the  road  and 
at  the  lake,  are  made  of  wood  and  thatched  with  grass. 
Dogs  are  numerous,  and  very  troublesome.  Some  are  of 
a  very  large  kind.* 

*  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  Vol.  15,  p.  371. 


40  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

The  region  which  forms  the  subject  of  the  memoirs 
just  alluded  to,  is  doubtless  one  of  the  most  interesting 
fields  for  exploration  of  any  on  the  African  continent. 
The  languages  spoken  by  the  several  nations  between 
the  two  oceans,  which  are  here  separated  by  a  space  of 
sixteen  or  seventeen  hundred  miles,  in  a  direct  line,  are 
believed  to  belong  to  one  great  family,  or  at  least  to  pre- 
sent such  traces  of  affinity,  that  an  expedition,  if  suffi- 
ciently strong,  aided  by  interpreters  from  the  Zanzibar 
coast  or  the  Monomoezi  tribes,  might  traverse  the  continent 
without  difficulty.  Obstacles  might  be  thrown  in  the 
way  by  the  Portuguese  traders,  who  would  naturally  feel 
jealous  at  any  encroachments  by  rival  nations  ;  but  by  a 
proper  understanding,  these  might  be  overcome,  and  this 
interesting  and  hitherto  unknown  portion  of  Central  Africa 
be  laid  open  to  commerce  and  civilization. 

The  latest  attempt  to  explore  this  region  was  that  of  M. 
Maizan,  a  young  officer  in  the  French  navy,  who  towards 
the  close  of  the  year  1844,  set  out  for  the  purpose.  In 
April,  1845,  he  left  Zanzibar,  furnished  with  a  firman 
from  Sultan  Said  to  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  tribes  of 
the  interior,  though  in  reality  they  enjoyed  the  most  com- 
plete independency.  Having  been  warned  that  a  chief, 
named  Pazzy,  manifested  hostile  intentions  towards  him, 
he  stopped  some  time  on  his  way,  and  after  having  ac- 
quired information  relating  to  the  country  he  wished  to 
survey,  he  made  a  grand  detour  round  the  territoiy  over 
which  this  savage  chief  exercised  his  authority.  After  a 
march  of  twenty  days,  he  reached  the  village  of  Dague- 
lamohor,  which  is  but  three  days'  journey  from  the  coast 
in  a  direct  line,  where  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  his  bag- 
gage, which  he  had  entrusted  to  an  Arab  servant.  This 
man,  it  appears,  had  communication  with  Pazzy,  and  had 
informed  him  of  the  route  his  master  had  taken.  Pazzy, 
with  some  men  of  his  tribe,  overtook  M.  Maizan  towards 
the  end  of  July,  at  Daguelamohor,  and  surrounded  the 
house  in  which  he  lived.     After  tying  him  with  cords  to  a 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  41 

palisade,  the  savage  ordered  his  men  to  cut  the  throat  of 
their  unfortunate  victim.* 

Mr.  M'Queen  gives  some  particulars  obtained  from  a 
native  African  relating  to  the  country  between  LakejT chad, 
or  Tshadda  and  Calabar.  This  |wrtion  of  the  African 
continent  has  never  been  visited  by  Europeans,  and  al- 
though little  can  be  gained  of  its  geography  from  the 
statements  of  this  man,  there  is  much  in  them  that  is 
interesting  on  the  productions  of  the  country,  the  natives, 
their  manners,  customs,  &c. 


ALGIERS. 

The  publication  by  the  French  government  of  the 
results  of  the  great  scientific  expedition  to  Algeria  has^ 
thrown  much  light  on  the  districts  embraced  in  Algiers 
and  the  regency  of  Tunis,  as  well  as  on  the  countries 
far  in  the  interior.  Among  the  subjects  which  have 
received  the  particular  attention  of  the  commission,  are, 
1  An  examination  of  the  routes  followed  by  the  Arabs 
in  the  south  of  Algiers  and  Tunis  ;  2.  Researches  into  the 
geography  and  commerce  of  Southern  Algiers,  by  Capt. 
Carette ;  3.  A  critical  analysis  of  the  routes  of  the  cara- 
vans between  Barbaiy  and  Timbuctoo,  with  remarks  on 
the  nature  of  the  western  Sahara,  and  on  the  tribes  which 
occupy  it,  by  M.  Renou ;  4.  A  series  of  interesting  me- 
moirs on  the  successive  periods  of  the  political  and  geo- 
graphical histoiy  of  Algiers  from  the  earliest  period  to  the 
present  time,  by  M.  Pelissier;  5.  The  History  of  Africa, 
translated  from  the  Arabic  of  Mohammed-ben-Abi-el-Raini- 
el-Kairouani,  by  M.  Remusat,  giving  a  particular  account 
of  the  earliest  Musselman  period. 

Gen.  Marey  in  an  account  of  his  expedition  to  Lagliouat 
in  Algeria,  published  in  Algiers  in  1S45,  has  contributed 
important  information  on  this  country,  whicli  deserves  a 

«  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages :  May,  lfJ46,  p.  139. 
4* 


42  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY, 

rank  with  the  great  work  of  the  scientific  expedition.*  In 
this  work  the  author  has  corrected  the  erroneous  opinion 
which  has  long  been  held,  of  the  barrenness  of  the  Sahara. 
Among  the  Arabs  this  word  Sahara  does  not  convey  the 
idea  which  the  world  has  generally  given  it,  of  a  desert  or 
uninhabitable  place,  but  the  contrary.  Like  every  coun- 
try, it  presents  some  excellent  and  luxuriant  spots,  others 
of  a  medium  quality  as  to  soil,  and  others  entirely  barren, 
not  susceptible  of  cultivation.  By  Sahara,  the  Arabs 
mean  a  country  of  pastures,  inhabited  by  a  pastoral  peo- 
ple ;  while,  to  the  provinces  between  the  Atlas  mountains 
and  the  sea,  they  apply  the  name  of  Tell,  meaning  a 
country  of  cereals,  and  of  an  agricultural  people. 

M.  Carette,  in  his  exploration  of  this  region,  has  also 
discovered  the  false  notion  long  imbibed  in  relation  to  it. 
"The  Sahara,"  says  he,  "was  for  a  long  time  deformed 
by  the  exaggerations  of  geographers,  and  by  the  reveries 
of  poets.  Called  by  some  the  Great  Desert,  from  its  ster- 
ility and  desolation,  by  others  the  country  of  dates,  the 
Sahara  had  become  a  fanciful  region,  of  which  our  igno- 
rance increased  its  proportions  and  fashioned  its  aspect. 
From  the  mountains  which  border  the  horizon  of  Tell,  to 
the  borders  of  the  country  of  the  blacks,  it  was  believed 
that  nature  had  departed  from  her  ordinary  laws,  renounc- 
ing the  variety  which  forms  the  essential  character  of  her 
works,  and  had  here  spread  an  immense  and  uniform 
covering,  composed  of  burning  plains,  over  which  troops 
of  savage  hordes  carried  their  devastating  sway.  Such 
is  not  the  nature,  such  is  not  the  appearance  of  the  Sahara." 

This  region,  accupying  so  large  a  portion  of  the  African 
continent,  "  is  a  vast  archipelago  of  oases,  of  which  each 
presents  an  animated  group  of  towns  and  villages.  Around 
each  is  a  large  enclosure  of  fruit  trees.  The  palm  is  the 
king  of  these  plantations,  not  only  from  the  elevation  of  its 
trunk,  but  from  the  value  of  its  product,  yet  it  does  not 

*  Balletin  de  la  Socifet^  de  Geogiaphie  de  France,  for  1845,  p.  251. 


THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHKOLOftV.  43 

exclude  other  species.     The  fig,  the  apricot,  the  peach 
and  the  vine  mingle  their  foliage  with  the  palm." 

The  Algerine  Sahara  has  lately  been  the  object  o}"a  spe- 
cial work  of  Col.  Daumas  who  intends  completing  the  re- 
searches begun  by  Gen.  Marey  and  the  members  of  the 
scientific  commission.  He  has  made  an  excursion  to  the 
borders  of  the  desert,  and  has  collected  much  that  is  new 
and  interesting  in  ethnology,  particularly  relating  to  the 
Tuarycks,  a  great  division  of  the  Berber  race  whose  numer- 
ous tribes  occupy  all  the  western  part  of  the  great  desert.* 

Among  the  interesting  Ethnological  facts  which  the  late 
expeditions  in  this  region  have  brought  to  light,  is  that  of 
the  existence  of  a  white  race,  inhabiting  the  Aures  moun- 
tains, {mons  Aurarius)  in  the  province  of  Constantine.t 
Dr.  Guyon,  of  the  French  army  of  Africa,  took  advantage 
of  an  expedition  sent  out  by  General  Bedeau  to  the  Aures, 
to  collect  information  about  this  people,  to  whom  other 
travellers  had  referred.  He  describes  them  as  having  a 
white  skin,  blue  eyes  and  flaxen  hair.  They  are  not 
found  by  themselves,  but  predominate  more  or  less  among 
various  tribes.  They  hold  a  middle  rank,  and  go  but 
rarely  v/ith  the  Kabyles  and  the  Arabs.  They  are  luke- 
warm in  observances  of  the  Koran,  on  wliich  account  the 
Arabs  esteem  them  less  than  the  Kabyles.  They  are 
more  numerous  in  the  tribe  of  the  Mouchaias,  who  speak 
a  language  in  which  words  of  Teutonic  origin  have  been 
recognized.  In  Constantine  where  they  are  numerous, 
they  exercise  the  trades  of  butcher  and  baker.  Late 
writers  believe  that  they  are  the  remains  of  the  Vandals 
driven  from  the  country  by  Belisarius. 

M.  Bory  de  Saint  Vincent  in  making  some  observations 
to  the  Academy  of  Sciences,  on  the  paper  of  Dr.  Guyon, 
exhibited  portraits  of  individuals  of  this  white  race,  which 

*  Notice  sur  le  Progrfes  des  decouvertes  G^ographiques  pendant  Tanned,  1845' 
par  V.  de  St.  Martin.     Bulletin  de  la  Soci6t6  de  G(;ographie,  p.  245. 

t  Nouvelles  Annales  des  Voyages.  Notes  Ethnologiques,  sur  la  race  blanche 
des  Aures.     Par  M.  Guyon.    Janvier,  1846,  p.  116. 


44  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

had  been  engraved  for  the  Scientific  Commission,  and 
stated  his  behef  that  they  were  evidently  of  the  northern 
Gothic  and  Vandal  type.* 

In  Northern  Africa,  an  important  discovery  has  lately 
been  made  of  the  ancient  Libyan  alphabet,  by  Mr.  F.  de 
Saulcy,  member  of  the  French  Institute.  This  curious 
result  has  been  produced,  by  a  study  of  the  bilingual 
inscription  on  the  monument  of  Thugga,  which  is  publish- 
ed in  the  first  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  the  Ethnologi- 
cal Society  of  New  York.  The  reading  of  the  Phoenician 
part  of  this  bilingual  inscription  having  been  established, 
the  value  of  the  Libyan  or  Numidian  letters  of  the  counter 
part,  has  been  as  clearly  proved,  as  the  hieroglyphic  part 
of  the  Rosetta  stone  has  been  established,  from  a  compar- 
ison with  the  Greek  text  of  that  bilingual  inscription. 

By  this  discovery,  a  vast  progress  has  been  made  in 
t;he  ethnography  and  history  of  ancient  Africa.  Two  facts 
of  the  greatest  consequence  have  been  established  by  it : — 
That  the  Libyan  language  was  that  of  Numidia,  at  the 
early  period  of  its  history,  when  the  Phenicians  were 
settled  there  ;  that  the  Numidians  of  that  early  day,  used 
their  own  peculiar  letters  for  writing  their  own  language. 
To  these  facts,  may  be  added  another  of  no  less  ethno 
graphic  value  ;  that  the  present  Numidian  or  Berber  race 
of  the  great  Sahara,  who  are  called  Tuarycks,  make  use 
of  these  identical  letters  at  this  day. 

For  this  recent  and  valuable  acquisition  to  science,  we 
are  again  indebted  to  Mr.  de  Saulcy,t  who  has  published 
a  Tuaiyck  alphabet  as  communicated  to  him  by  Mr.  Boi- 
sonnet,  Captain  of  Artillery  at  Algiers.  It  was  furnished 
to  him  by  an  educated  native  of  the  Oasis  of  Touat,  in  the 
great    Sahara,   and  is  called  by    him    Kalem-i-TeJinag.X 

*  Comptes-Rendus  de  1' Academic  des  Sciences,  29  Dec.  1845. 

t  Revue  Aichaeologique,  Nov.  1845. 

I  The  incident  which  led  to  the  discovery  of  this  alphabet  is  deserving  of  notice. 
An  Algerine  named  Sidy-Hamdan-Ben-Otsman-Khodja,  who  had  gained  the 
confidence  of  the  Duke  of  Rovigo,  then  Governor  of  Algiers,  was  in  correspond. 


THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY.  45 

What  the  writkg  of  Tejinag  means,  it  would  be  curious  to 
know.  This  Touatee,  Abd-el-Kader,  has  promised  more 
extended  information,  in  relation  to  the  writing  of  the 
Tuarycks,  than  wliicli,  no  more  valuable  contribution  to 
African  ethnography  can  be  imagined.  He  asserts  that, 
the  Tuarycks  engrave  or  scratch  on  the  rocks  of  the 
Sahara,  numerous  inscriptions,  either  historic  or  erotic. 
This  subject  has  been  alluded  to  by  Mr.  Hodgson,  in  his 
"  Notes  on  Africa'''  in  which  he  mentions  the  Tuaryck  let- 
ters copied  by  Denham  and  Clapperton. 

The  impulse  first  given  by  our  countryman  Mr.  Wm. 
B.  Hodgson,  in  his  researches  into  the  Berber  language, 
and  the  ethnographic  facts  which  were  the  results  of  his 
elucidations,  has  extended  to  England,  France  and  Ger- 
many, and  the  last  two  years  have  been  productive  of 
several  valuable  and  important  works,  including  grammars 
and  dictionaries  of  the  Berber  language.  These  have  added 
greatly  to  our  previous  knowledge  of  the  ancient  and 
primitive  people,  who  at  a  remote  period,  coeval  with  that 
of  the  ancient  Egyptians  occupied  the  northern  part  of 
Africa. 

dence  with  the  Bey  of  Constantine.  The  Hadji  Ahmed,  to  render  this  correspon- 
dence rnore  sure,  wrote  his  letters  in  conventional  signs,  known  among  certain 
Arabs  by  the  name  of  romoitz. 

A!)  the  son  of  Sidy-Hamdan,  who  was  the  bearer  of  these  Missives,  had  lived 
a  long  time  in  France  as  an  officer  in  the  employ  of  the  Sublime  Porte  ;  and  in 
his  hands  M.  Boisonnet  one  day  discovered  the  letters  of  Hadji  Ahmed.  On 
glancing  his  eye  over  one  of  these  documents  he  discovered  at  the  top  {en  vedette) 
two  groups  of  signs,  which,  from  their  situation,  he  readily  imagined  might 
be  the  equivalents  of  the  Arab  sacramental  words.  Praise  he  to  God,  with 
which  all  good  Musselmen  generally  begin  an  epistle.  With  this  supposition  he 
applied  the  alphabetic  value  to  each  character,  and  thus  obtained  the  value  of 
six  of  these  strange  cyphers.  The  next  day  he  obtained  two  of  these  documents 
or  letters  from  Ali,  who  little  suspected  what  use  he  intended  making  of  them. 
With  these  materials  he  diligently  applied  himself,  and  on  the  following  morning 
sent  him  a  complete  translation  of  the  letters.  Ali  was  greatly  alarmed  that  Mr. 
Boisonnet  had  solved  the  enigma,  but  more  so  that  he  had  thereby  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  correspondence. 

Struck  with  the  analogy  between  these  characters  and  the  Lybian  characters 
on  the  Thugga  monument,  he  applied  the  alpliabet  discovered  by  him,  and^tho 
result  is  known. — Revue  ArchcBologique,  Noiember,  1845. 


46  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

Mr.  de  Saulcy  has  already  unravelled  the  intricacj'^ 
of  the  demotic  writing  of  Egypt  and  the  popular  characters 
of  ancient  Libya.  He  is  thus  working  at  both  ends 
of  the  Libyan  chain.  He  will  find  the  Berber  thread 
at  the  Oasis  of  Ammon,  and  at  Meroe.  We  shall  thus 
probably  find,  that  the  Berber  language  was  the  original 
tongue  of  tliat  part  of  Ethiopia.  Dr.  Lepsius  found  in 
that  region,  numerous  inscriptions  in  the  Egyptian  de- 
motic, and  in  Greek  characters,  but  written  in  an  unknown 
language.  He  strongly  suspects,  that  the  old  Ethiopian 
blood  will  be  found  in  the  Berber  veins ;  and  that  the 
Nubian  language  has  strong  affinities  with  the  Berber. 
When  these  inscriptions  in  an  unknown  language  are  de- 
cyphered,  it  will  be  known  how  far  the  interpretation  of 
Egyptian  mythology  and  the  local  names,  heretofore  pro- 
posed by  Mr.  Hodgson,  is  to  be  received  as  plausible.  He 
has  proposed  the  Berber  etymologies  of  Aman  or  Ammon 
as  water ;  Themis  as  fire  or  purity  ;  Thot  as  an  eye  ;  Ed- 
fou  and  Tadis  as  the  sun. 


Books  on  Algiers. 

Algeria  and  Tunis  in  1845.  An  account  of  a  journey  made  through  the  two 
Regencies, by  Viscount  Fielding  and  Capt.  Kennedy.  2  vols,  post  8vo.  London, 
1846. 

Le  Maroc  et  ses  Caravanes,  ou  Relations  de  la  France  avec  cet  Empire,  par 
R.  Thomassy.     Bvo.     Paris  1845. 

Exploration  Scientifique  de  1' Algeria  pendant  les  anne^s  1840,  1841,  1842. 
Public  parl'ordre  du  gouvernment  et  avec  le  concours  d'une  commission  Academ- 
ique.     4  vols,  folio,     (now  in  the  course  of  publication.)} 

Recherches  sur  la  constitution  de.  la  propri^te  territoriale  dans  le  pays  mussul- 
mansetsubsidiarement  en  Algeria  ;  par  M.  Worms.     8vo.     Paris,  1846. 

A  visit  to  the  French  possessions  in  Algiers  in  1845.  By  Count  St.  Marie. 
Post  8vo.     London,  1846. 

ApRiQtJE  (!')  frangaise,  I'empire  du  Maroc  et  les  ddserts  de  Sahara.  Histoire 
nationale  des  conquetes,  victoires  et  nouvelles  decouvertes  des  Frangais  depuisla 
prise  d' Alger  jusqu'^,  nos  jours  ;  par  P.  Christian.     8  vo. 

Algeria  en  1846  ;  par  J.  Desjobert.     8vo.     Paris,  1846. 

Guide  du  voyageur  en  Algeria.  Itineraire  du  savant,  de  I'artiste,  de  I'homme 
du  monde  et  du  colon  ;  par  Quetin.     18mo.     Paris,  1846. 

IJfe  Sahara  Algerien.     Etude  geographiques,  statistiques  et  historiques  sur  la 


I 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  47 

Madagascar. — The  island  of  Madagascar  has  recently 
attracted  and  continues  to  occupy  attention  in  France.  In 
1842  M.  Guillian,  in  command  of  a  French  corvette,  was 
sent  by  the  governor  of  the  isle  of  Bourbon  to  this  island, 
to  select  a  harbor  safe  and  convenient  of  access,  and 
to  obtain  information  relative  to  the  country  and  its  inhab- 
itants. After  visiting  various  parts  of  the  island  on  its 
western  side,  in  which  fourteen  months  were  spent,  M. 
Guillian  returned  to  Bourbon,  and  in  1845  the  results  of 
his  visit  were  published  in  Paris.  The  first  part  of  this 
work  gives  a  history  of  the  Sakalave  people,  who  occupy 
the  western  parts  of  the  island.  The  second  details  the 
particulars  of  the  voyage  made  in  1842  and  1843,  embra- 


region  au  sud  des  dtablissementa  Fran^aises  en  Alg^rie ;  par  Col.  Dauinas 
8vo.     PaVis,  1845. 

L'Afrique  FraiK^aise  I'Empire  de  Maroc  et  les  deserts  de  Saliara,  coiiqu6tes  et 
decouvertes  des  Fran^ais.     Royal  8vo. 

Dictionnaire  de  G^ographie  ^'conoinique,  politique  et  historiquo  de  I'Alg^rie. 
Avec  une  carte.     12nio.      Paris,  1846. 

Geugraphie  populaire  de  I'Alg^rie,  avec  cartes.     12ino.     1846. 

Histoire  de  nos  Colonies  Fran^aises  de  I'Alg^rie  et  du  Maroc  ;  par  M.  Chris- 
tian.    2  vols.     8vo.     Paris,  1846. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  latest  publications  on  Africa  generally. 

Voyage  dans  I'Afrique  Occidentale,  comprenant  Texploration  du  Senegal 
depuis  St.  Louis  jusqu'i  la  Feleine  jusqu'k  Sansandig  ;  des  mines  d'or  de  Kenie- 
ba,  dans  le  Bambouk  ;  des  pays  de  Galam,  Boudou  et  Wooli ;  et  de  la  Gambia  ; 
par  A.  Raffenel.     8vo.  and  folio  atlas.     Paris,  1846. 

Viaggi  neir  Africa  Occidentale,  di  Toto  Omhoni,  gia  medico  di  consigli<;  nel 
regno  d' Angola  e  sue  dispendenze,     8vo.     Milan,  1845, 

A  visit  to  the  Portuguese  possessions  in  South  Western  Africa.  By  Dr. 
Tarns.     2  vols.     8vo. 

Life  in  the  Wilderness;  or.  Wanderings  in  South  Africa.  By  Henry  W 
Methuen.     Post  8vo.     London,  1846. 

Voyage  au  Darfour  par  le  Cheykh  Mohammed  Ebn-Omar  El-Tounsy  ;  traduire, 
de  I'Arabe,  par  Dr.  Perron ;  public  par  les  soins  de  M.  Jomard.  Royal  6vo. 
Maps.     Paris,  1845. 

Observations  sur  le  Voyage  au  Darfour  suivies  d'un  Vocabulaire  de  la  langue  des 
habitanset  deremarques  surle  Nil  Blanc  Superieure  ;  par  M.  Jomard.      1846. 

Essai  historiqiie  sur  les  races  anciennes  et  modernes  de  I'Africiue  Septentrio- 
nale,  leurs  origiiies,  leurs  mouvements  et  leurs  transformations  depuis  I'autiquit^ 
jusqu'a,  nos  jours ;  par  Pascal  Duprat.     8vo.     Paris,  1845. 


48  THE    PROCRr.SS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

cing  the  geograph}^  commerce  and  present  condition  of 
the  country,  an  abstract  of  which  is  given  in  the  Bulletin 
of  the  Geographical  Society  of  Paris,  Feb.  184G. 

So  important  were  the  results  of  the  visit  of  M.  Guillian 
that  a  new  expedition  has  been  sent  to  Madagascar  under 
his  direction,  with  instructions  for  a  more  extended  exami- 
nation, particularly  in  relation  to  its  animal  and  vegetable 
productions.  A  more  extensive  work  by  M.  de  Froberville, 
is  preparing  for  publication  in  Paris,  in  which  more  atten^ 
tion  will  be  given  to  the  ethnography  of  this  important 
island.* 


EGYPT. 

I  have  hesitated,  in  the  superficial  view  1  propose  to  take 
in  noticing  the  ethnological  and  archaeological  researches 
of  the  day,  as  to  whether  I  ought  to  speak  of  the  land  of 
the  Pharaohs.  The  explorations  have  been  on  so  grand 
a  scale,  and  the  results  so  astounding,  that  one  is  lost  in 
amazement  in  attempting  to  keep  pace  with  them. 

In  England,  France,  Germany  and  Italy,  Egyptian 
archaeology  is  the  most  fruitful  topic  among  the  learned. 


*  Documents  sur  I'histoire,  la  geographic  et  le  commerce  de  la  partie  Occident 
tale  de  File  de  Madagascar^  recueilliset  rediges  par  M.  Guillian,  8vo.  Paris,  1845. 

Histoire  d'etablissement  Fran^ais  de  Madagascar,  pendant  la  restauration, 
preceded  d'une  description  de  cette  ile,  et  suivie  de  quelques  considerations  poli- 
tiques  et  commerciales  sur  I'expedition  et  la  colonization  de  Madagascar.  Par 
M.  Carayon,  Bvo.  Paris,  1845. 

Histoire  et  Gdographie  de  Madagascar,  depuis  la  d^couverte  de  Pile  en  1506, 
jusqu'a,  recit  des  derniers  evenements  de  Tamafive  ;  par  M.  Descartes.  Bvo.  Paris, 
1846. 

Madagascar  expedition  de  1829.  Par  M.  le  Capitaine  de  fregate  Jourdain. 
Revue  de  I'Orient,  torn  ix.     April,  1846. 

A  short  memoir  on  Madagascar  is  contained  in  the  "  Bulletin  de  la  Soci^ti'i  de 
Geographic,  July,  1845,"  by  M.  Bona  Christave. 

Etchings  of  a  Whaling  Voyage,  with  notes  of  a  sojourn  in  the  Island  of  Zanzi- 
bar, and  a  history  of  the  whale  fisheryj  by  J.  R.  Browne.  Svo.  New  York;  1846. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOOY.  49 

In  Paris,  it  forms  the  theme  of  lecture  by  the  most  distin- 
guished archaiologists,  and  the  subject  absorbs  so  much 
interest  in  Germany,  that  the  King  of  Prussia  has  estab- 
lished a  professorship  at  the  Royal  University  for  Egyp- 
tian antiquities  and  history,  which  he  has  assigned  to 
Professor  Lepsius,  the  most  accomphslied  schohir  in 
Egyptian  learning,  and  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  sci- 
entific commission  sent  by  his  majesty  to  explore  the  valley 
of  the  Nile. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  addition  to  the  immense 
and  costly  work  published  by  Napoleon,  there  have  since 
been  published  the  great  national  works  of  ChampoUion, 
by  the  French  government,  and  of  Rossellini  by  the 
Tuscan  government.  These  are  to  be  immediately  fol- 
lowed by  the  great  work  of  Lepsius,  who  has  just  returned 
from  Egypt,  laden  with  innumerable  treasures,  the  results 
of  thrfee  years  of  most  laborious  and  successful  explora- 
tions. This  undertaking  is  at  the  expense  of  the  King  of 
of  Prussia,  one  of  the  most  enlightened  monarchs  of 
Europe,  and  who,  at  the  present  moment,  is  doing  more 
in  various  parts  of  the  world  for  the  advancement  of 
science  than  any  now  living. 

But  the  French  government,  which  has  always  been 
foremost  in  promoting  such  explorations,  is  determined 
not  to  be  superseded  by  the  learned  Prussian's  researches 
in  Eg3^ptian  lore.  An  expedition  has  been  organized 
under  M.  Prisse,  for  a  new  survey  and  exploration  of 
Egypt.  Mr.  Prisse  is  an  accomplished  scholar,  versed  in 
hieroglyphical  learning,  and  author  of  a  work  on  Egyptian 
Ethnology.  He  will  be  accompanied  by  competent 
artists,  will  go  over  the  same  ground  as  Lepsius,  and 
make  additional  explorations. 

"As  regards  the  eminent  men  who  have  won  brllli;int 
distinction  in  the  career  of  Egyptian  studies,  it  is  out  of 
the  question  here  to  analyze  their  books :  it  must  suffice 
to  state,  that  all  have  marched  boldly  along  the  road 
opened  by  ChampolUou,  and  that  the  science  which  owed 
5 


50  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

its  first  illustration  to  Young,  to  the  Champolllons,  to  the 
Humboldts,  to  Salvolini,  to  Rosellini,  to  Nestor  L'Hote, 
and  to  whose  soundness  the  great  De  Sacy  has  furnished 
his  testimony,  counts  at  this  day  as  adepts  and  ardent 
cultivators,  such  scholars  as  Letronne,  Biot,  Prisse,  Bun- 
sen,  Lepsius,  Burnouf,  Pauthier,  Lanci,  Birch,  Wilkinson, 
Shai'pe,  Bonorai,  and  many  more.* 

A  few  important  results  of  the  late  explorations  inEgypt, 
and  researches  into  her  hieroglyphics  and  history,  it  may 
be  well  to  mention. 

Prof.  Schwartze,  of  Berlin,  is  publishing  a  work  on 
Egyptian  philology,  entitled  Das  Alte  jEgyptc7i.  Some 
idea  may  be  formed  of  the  erudition  of  German  philologists, 
and  the  extent  to  which  their  investigations  are  carried, 
when  we  state  that  this  savant  has  completed  the  first  part 
of  the  first  volume  of  this  work,  which  embraces  2200 
quarto  pages  !   and  this  is  but  a  beginning.  * 

De  Saulcy  has  made  great  advances  in  decyphering  the 
Demotic  writing  of  Egypt,  in  which,  from  Champollion's 
death  to  1843,  little  had  been  done.  He  has  now  trans- 
lated the  whole  of  the  Demotic  text  on  the  Rosetta  stone, 
so  that  we  may  consider  this  portion  of  Egyptian  literature 
as  placed  on  a  firm  basis. 

Farther  elucidations  of  the  Coptic  language  have  been 
made.  This,  it  will  be  remembered,  is  the  language  into 
which  the  ancient  Egyptian  merged,  and  is  the  main  in- 
strument by  which  a  knowledge  of  the  latter  must  be  ob- 
tained. Recently  a  discovery  has  been  made  by  Arthur 
de  Riviere,  at  Cairo,  in  an  ancient  Coptic  MS.  containing 
part  of  the  Old  Testament.  The  manuscript  was  very 
large  and  thick,  and  on  separating  the  leaves  was  found 
to  contain  a  pagan  manuscript  in  the  same  language,  the 
only  one  yet  discovered.f     On  a  farther  examination  of 

*  See  De  Saulcy.     Revue  des  deux  Mondes,  June,  1846. 

t  The  accident  which  led  to  this  second  discovery  deserves  to  be  mentioned. 
The  person  into  whose  hands  the  manuscript  fell,  while  examining  the  leaves 
which  were  remarkably  thick,  accidentally  spilt  a  tumbler  of  water  on  it.     In 


THE    PROGRESS    OF   ETHNOLOGY.  51 

this  manuscript,  it  proved  to  be  a  work  on  the  religion  of 
the  ancient  Egyptians.  The  translation  of  this  curious 
document  is  looked  for  with  much  interest. 

M.  Prisse  is  publishing  at  the  expense  of  the  French 
Government,  the  continuation  of  ChampoUion's  great  work 
on  Egypt  and  Nubia — 50  plates  are  in  press. 

Mr.  Birch,  of  London,  has  nearly  ready  for  the  press  a 
work  on  the  titles  of  the  officers  of  the  Pharaonic  court.  He 
has  discovered  in  hieroglyphical  writing  those  of  the  clilef 
butler,  chief  baker,  and  others,  coeval  with  the  pyramids  and 
anterior  to  Joseph.  He  has  also  discovered  upon  a  tablet 
at  the  Louvre  (age  of  Thotmes  lU.  B.  C.  IGOO)  his  conquest 
of  Nineveh,  Shinar,  and  Babylon,  and  with  the  tribute  ex- 
acted from  those  conquered  nations.  The  intense  interest 
which  Egyptian  archasology  is  exciting  in  Europe  will  be 
seen  from  the  list  of  new  books  on  the  subject. 

The  most  remarkable  discoveries,  and  in  which  the 
greatest  advances  has  been  made,  arc  in  monumental 
chronology.  Through  the  indefatigable  labors  of  the  Prus- 
sian savant,  Lepsius,  primeval  history  has  far  transcended 
the  bounds  to  which  Champollion  and  Rosellini  had  car- 
ried it.  They  fixed  the  era  of  Menes,  the  first  Pharaoh  of 
Egypt,  at  about  2750,  B.  C.  Bockh,  of  Berlin,  from  astro- 
nomical calculatious,  places  it  at  5702  B.  C. 

Henry  of  Paris,  in  his  "  UEgypte  Fhiiraoniquc,"  from 
historical  deductions,  places  the  era  at  5303  B.C. 

Barucchi,  of  Turin,  from  critical  investigations,  at  4890 
B.  C,  and  Bunsen,  in  his  late  work  entitled  "  Egypt's 
Place  in  the  World's  History,"  from  the  most  laVjorious 
hierological  and  critical  deductions,  places  the  era'  ol' 
Menes  at  3643  B.  C. 

I  should  do  wrong  to   speak  of  the   labors  of  foreign 


order  to  dry  it  he  placed  it  in  the  sun  in  a  window,  when  the  parchment  that 
was  wet  separated.  He  opened  the  leaves  which  had  been  sealed  and  found  the 
Pagan  manuscript  between  them.  A  farther  examination  showed  that  the  entire 
volume  was  similarly  formed. 


52  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGV. 

savans,  without  alluding  to  what  has  been  done  in  this 
country.  Dr.  Morton,  it  is  known,  has  published  a  work 
on  Egyptian  Ethnography,  from  crania  in  his  possession 
furnished  by  Mr.  Gliddon,  which  reflects  great  credit  on 
his  scholarship,  and  has  been  highly  commended  in  Europe. 
The  late  Mr.  Pickering,  of  Boston,  was  one  of  the  few 
who  cultivated  hieroglyphical  literature  in  America.  But 
perhaps  the  American,  people,  as  a  mass,  owe  a  deeper 
debt  of  gratitude  to  Mr.  Geo.  R.  Ghddon,  for  his  interest- 
ing lectures  on  Egypt  and  her  literature,  and  to  his  work 
entitled  Chapters  on  Egyptian  Antiquities  and  Hieroglyph- 
ics, than  to  any  other  man.  Mr.  Gliddon,  by  a  long  resi- 
dence in  Egypt,  and  by  a  close  study  subsequently  of  her 
monuments,  has  been  enabled  to  popularize  the  subject, 
and  by  the  aid  of  a  truly  magnificent  and  costly  series  of 
illustrations  of  the  monuments,  the  sculptures,  the  paint- 
ings and  hieroglyphics  of  Egypt,  to  make  this  most 
interesting  and  absorbing  subject,  comprehensive  to  all. 

The  results  of  these  Egyptian  investigations  will  doubtless 
be  startling  to  many  ;  for  if  the  facts  announced  are  true, 
and  we  see  no  reason  to  believe  otherwise,  it  places  the 
creation  of  man  far,  very  far,  beyond  the  period  usually 
assigned  to  him  in  the  chronology  of  the  Hebrew  Bible. 
But  again,  it  must  be  observed  that  the  common  chronologj'^ 
gives  the  shortest  period  for  that  event.  If  other  scrip- 
tural chronologies  are  adopted,  we  gain  two  or  three  thou- 
sand years  for  the  creation  of  man,  which  gives  us  quite 
time  enough  to  account  for  the  high  state  of  civilization 
and  the  arts  in  Egypt,  four  thousand  years  B.  C. 


I  must  also  acknowledge  the  obligation  I  am  under  for  the  use  of  many  splen- 
did and  valuable  books  relating  to  Egypt,  from  Mr.  Richard  K.  Haight.  This 
gentleman,  with  an  ample  fortune  at  his  command,  and  with  a  taste  for  archaBO- 
logical  studies,  acquired  by  a  personal  tour  among  the  monuments  of  Egypt,  has 
collected  a  large  and  valuable  library  of  books  on  Egypt,  including  all  the  great 
works  published  by  the  European  governments  on  that  country.  This  costly  and 
unique  collection,  which  few  but  princes  or  governments  possess,  he  liberally 
places  at  the  command  of  scholars,  who,  for  purposesof  study,  may  require  them. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  53 

But  we  do  not  fear  these  investigations — truth  will  pre- 
vail, and  its  attainment  can  never  be  detriincnt;il  in  th(^ 
highest  interests  of  man. 

Mr.  Haight's  interest  in  arcliBCological  researches  lias  been  noticed  in  Paris, 
in  an  article  by  De  Saulcy,  member  of  the  Institute  of  France,  in  a  memoir  en- 
titled, "  L'Etude  des  Hieroglyphics."  Speaking  of  I\Ir.  Gliddon's  success  in  the 
United  States  in  popularizing  hieroglypliical  discoveries,  De  Saulcy  justly  re- 
marks— "  II  a  6tc  puissamment  second^-,  dans  cette  louable  entreprise,  par  une 
de  ces  nobles  intelligences  dont  un  pays  s'  honore  ;  M.  Haight,  I'anii,  le  soutien, 
devoue  de  tous  ies  hommes  de  science,  n'a  pas  peu  contribuc,  par  sa  gi^iK^reuse 
assistance,  a  repandre  aux  Etats-Unis  Ies  belles  decouvertes  qui  concernent  Ies 
temps  pharaoniques."     Eevue  des  Deux  Mondes.     Paris,  June  15,  1846. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  late  works  relating  to  Egypt : 

The  Oriental  Album  ;  or  Historical,  Pictorial,  and  Ethnographical  Sketches, 
illustrating  the  human  families  in  the  Valley  of  the  Nile  :  by  E.  Prisse.  folio. 
London,  1846. 

The  History  of  Egypt,  from  the  earliest  times  till  the  conquest  by  the  Arabs, 
A.  D.  640.     By  Samuel  Sharpe.  8vo.     London,  1846. 

A  Pilgrimage  to  the  Temples  and  Tombs  of  Egypt,  Nubia,  and  Palestine,  in 
1845-'46,  by  Mrs.  Romer,  2  vols.  8vo.     London,  1846. 

L'Egypte  au  XlXsifecle,  histoire  militaire  et  politique,  anecdotique  etpittoresque 
de  Mehemet  Ali,  etc.  ;  par  E.  Gouin.     Illustr<;e  de  gravures. 

Panorama  d'Egypte  et  de  Nubie  avec  un  texte  orn^,  de  vignettes  ;  par  Hector 
Horeau.  folio. 

Recherches  sur  Ies  arts  et  metiers  de  la  vie  civile  et  domestique  des  anciens 
peuples  de  I'Egypte,  de  la  Nubie  et  de  I'Ethiopie,  suivi  de  details  sur  Ies  moeurs 
et  codtumes  des  peuples  modernes  des  memes  contrees  ;  par  M.  Frederic  Cail- 
liand,  folio.  Paris,  1831-'47.     100  plates. 

Das  Todtenbuch  der  ^Egypten  nach  dera  Hieroglyphischen  Papyrus  in  Turin, 
von  Dr.  R.  Leipsius.     Leipsig. 

Schwartze  Das  alte  .lEgypten,  oder  Sprache,  Geschichte,  Religion  uiid  Verfas- 
sung  d.  alt.  .(Egypt.  2  vols.  4to.  Leipsig. 

jEgyptens  Stelle  in  der  Weltgeschichte :  Von  Carl  J.  Bunsen.     3  vols.  8vo. 

Manetho  und  die  Hundssternperiode,  ein  Beitrag  zur  Geschichte  der  Pharao- 
nen  :  Von  August  Bockh.  8vo.  Berlin,  1845. 

Macrizi'fe  Geschichte  der  Copten.  Aus  den  Handschriften  zu  Gotha  und  Wi'en, 
mit  Uebersetzungen  and  Anmerkungen.  Von  Wiistenfeld.  4to.  Gottingen,  1845. 

Monuments  de  I'Egypte  et  de  la  Nubie.  Notices  descriptives  conformcs  aux 
manuscrits  autographes  rediges  sur  Ies  lieux  par  Cliatnpollion  le  jeune.  folio. 
Paris,  1845-'46. 

L'Egypte  Pharaonique,  ou  Histoire  des  institutions  qui  regirent  Ies  Egyptiens 
sous  leur  Rois  nationaux.  par  D.  M.  .7.  Henri,  2  vols.  8vo.     Paris,  1846. 

Discorso  Gritici  sopra  la  Gronologia  Egizia  ;  del  Prof.  Barucchi.  4to.  Turin. 

Voyage  en  Egypte,  en  Nubie,  dans  Ies  deserts  de  Beyonda,  des  Bycharls,  el 
sur  Ies  c6tes  de  la  Mer  Rouge:  par  E.  Combes.  2  vols.  8vo.     Paris,  1847. 
5* 


54  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 


THE  EASTERN  ARCHIPELAGO. 

Borneo. — Among  the  most  remarkable  and  successful 
attempts  to  open  a  communication  with  the  natives  of  the 
East  India  Islands,  is  that  of  Mr.  James  Brooke.  This 
gentleman,  prompted  solely  by  a  desire  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  people  of  Borneo,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
explore  this  hitherto  unknown  region,  has  established  him- 
self at  Sarawak,  on  the  north-western  part  of  the  island, 
427  miles  from  Singapore.  Such  was  the  interest  mani- 
fested by  him  on  his  arrival  in  the  country  to  promote  the 
good  of  the  people,  and  to  suppress  the  piracies  which  have 
been  carried  on  for  many  years  by  the  Malays,  and  certain 
tribes  associated  with  them,  that  the  then  reigning  Rajah, 
Muda  Hassim,  resigned  to  him  his  right  and  title  to  the 
government  of  the  district,  in  which  he  was  afterwards 
established  by  the  Sultan  of  Borneo.  The  success  that 
has  attended  Mr.  Brooke's  government,  among  a  barba- 
rous people,  whose  intercourse  with  foreigners  had  been 
confined  to  the  Malays  and  Chinese,  is  most  remarkable. 
Possessed  of  an  independent  fortune,  of  the  most  en- 
larged benevolence  ;  familiar  with  the  language,  manners, 
customs  and  institutions  of  the  people  by  which  he  is 
surrounded,  with  a  mind  stored  with  knowledge  acquired 
from  extensive  travel  and  intercourse  with  various  rude 
nations,  he  seems  to  have  been  prepared  by  Providence 
for  the  task  which  he  has  attempted,  and  which  has 
thus  far  been  crowned  with  success. 

Capt.  Keppel's  Narrative  of  his  expedition  to  Borneo, 
and  Mr.  Brooke's  Journal,  furnish  some  interesting  ethno- 
logical facts.  The  Dyaks,  or  aboriginal  inhabitants  of 
Borneo,  are  divided  into  numerous  lesser  tribes,  varying 
in  a  slight  degree  in  their  manners  and  customs.  Their 
language  belongs  to  the  Polynesian  stock,  on  which  has 
been  ingrafted,  particularly  along  the  coast,  a  large  num- 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  65 

ber  of  Malayan  words.  It  also  exhibits  evidences  of  mi- 
grations from  India  at  remote  periods.  In  speaking  of 
the  Sibnowans,  Mr.  Brooke  observes  that  "  they  have  no 
idea  of  a  God,  and  though  they  have  a  name  for  the  Deity, 
(Battara,  evidently  of  Hindoo  origin,)  with  a  faint  notion 
of  a  future  state,  the  belief  seems  a  dead  letter  among: 
them.  They  have  no  priests,  say  no  prayers,  make  no 
offerings  to  propitiate  the  Dcit}'' ;  and  of  course  have  no 
occasion  for  human  sacrifices,  in  which  respect  they  diller 
from  all  other  people  in  the  same  state  of  civilization,  who 
bow  to  their  idols  with  the  same  feelings  of  reverence  and 
devotion,  of  awe  and  fear,  as  civilized  beings  do  to  their 
invisible  God."*  From  their  comparatively  innocent 
state,  Mr.  Brooke  believes  they  are  capable  of  being  easily 
raised  in  the  scale  of  society.  "  Their  simplicity  of  man- 
ners, the  purity  of  their  morals  and  their  present  igno- 
rance of  all  forms  of  worship,  and  all  idea  of  future  re- 
sponsibility, render  them  open  to  conviction  of  truth  and 
rehgious  impression,  when  their  minds  have  been  raised 
by  education."*  It  is  a  well  known  fact,  that  since  the 
establishment  of  Europeans  in  the  Eastern  Archipelago, 
the  tendency  of  the  Polynesian  races  has  generally  been 
to  decay.  The  case  of  Mr.  Brooke,  however,  now  war- 
rants us  in  hoping  that  such  a  result  need  not  necessarily 
and  inevitably  ensue. 

While  success  has  attended  this  gentleman  at  the 
north,  the  American  missionaries,  among  the  Dutch 
possessions  farther  south,  have  totally  failed  in  their 
objects.  They  attribute  the  unwillingness  of  the  Dyaks 
to  submit  to  their  instruction,  to  the  influence  of  the 
Malays,  whose  interests  are  necessarily  opposed  to  those 
of  the  missionaries,  for,  it  is  evident  that  once  under 
the  guidance  of  the  latter,  the  Dyaks  will  see  their  own 
degraded   and  oppressed  condition,  and   submit  to  it  uo 


*  Keppell's  Borneo,  vol.  I.  p.  233.     2.  p.  59. 


56  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

longer.  Mr.  Youngblood  says  that  "  so  prejudiced  are 
the  Dyaks,  that  I  have  been  unable  to  obtain  a  few  boys 
to  instruct,  of  which  I  was  very  desirous."* 

The  Dutch  have  long  had  trading  establishments  in 
Borneo,  but  they  had  made  no  efforts  either  to  suppress 
the  piracies,  or  improve  the  moral  and  social  condition  ot 
its  inhabitants.  Its  great  value  has  now  become  so  appa- 
rent, that  unless  they  keep  pace  with,  and  follow  the  ex- 
ample set  by  the  English,  they  will  be  in  danger  of  having 
it  wrested  from  their  hands  by  the  more  enlightened 
policy  of  the  latter. 

Borneo  produces  all  the  valuable  articles  of  commerce 
common  to  other  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago.  Its 
mineral  productions  are  equally  rich,  and  include  gold 
dust,  diamonds,  pearls,  tin,  copper,  antimony,  and  coal. 
The  interior  is  quite  unknown.  It  is  three  times  larger 
than  Great  Britain,  and  is  supposed  to  contain  about 
3,000,000  of  people. 

Ihave  purposely  avoided  speaking  of  the  trade  and 
commerce  of  the  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago,  as 
they  are  subjects  which  do  not  fall  within  the  sphere  of 
our  enquiries,  in  a  review  like  the  present ;  although  the 
productions,  the  trade  and  commerce  of  nations  are 
properly  a  branch  of  ethnological  enquiry,  in  a  more  en- 
larged view.  An  interesting  pamphlet,  embodying  much 
valuable  information  on  the  commerce  of  the  East,  has 
been  lately  published  by  our  townsman,  Mr.  Aaron  H. 
Palmer.  This  gentleman  is  desirous  that  the  United 
States  government  should  send  a  special  mission  to  the 
East  Indies,  as  well  as  to  other  countries  of  Asia, 
with  a  view  to  extend  our  commercial  relations.  The 
plan  is  one  that  deserves  the  attention  of  our  people  and 
government,  and  I  am  happy  to  state  that  it  has  met  with 
favor  from  many  of  our  merchants  engaged  in  the  com- 
merce of  the  East,  as  well  as  from  some  distinguished 

*  Missionary  Herald,  vol.  42,  p.  100. 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY.  07 

functionaries  of  the  government.*  England,  Franco, 
Prussia,  Denmark,  and  Holland,  have  at  the  present  mo- 
ment, expeditions  in  various  parts  of  the  East  Indies  and 
Oceanica,  planned  for  the  pursuit  of  various  scientific 
enquiries  and  the  extension  of  their  commerce.  With 
the  exception  of  Prussia,  these  nations  seem  to  be  de- 
sirous to  establish  colonies  ;  and  they  have,  within  a  11; w 
years,  taken  up  valuable  positions  for  the  purpose. 

Is  it  not  then  the  duty  of  our  government  to  be  repre- 
sented in  this  new  and  wide  field  y'  Our  dominions  now 
extend  from  ocean  to  ocean,  and  we  talk  of  the  great 
advantages  we  shall  possess  in  carrying  on  an  eastern 
trade  ;  but  how  greatly  would  our  advantages  be  increased 
by  having  a  depot  or  colony  on  on^of  the  fertile  islands 
contiguous  to  China,  Java,  Borneo,  Japan,  the  Philip- 
pines, &c.  An  extended  commerce  demands  it,  and  we 
hope  the  day  is  not  distant  when  our  government  may  see 
its»  importance. 

England,  France,  Spain,  Portugal  and  Holland  have 
possessions  in  the  East.  The  former,  always  awake  ta 
her  commercial  interests,  now  has  three  prominent  sta- 
tions in  the  China  Sea, — Singapore,  Borneo,  and  Hong- 
kong. But  even  these  important  points  do  not  satisfy 
her,  and  she  looks  with  a  longing  eye  towards  Chusan,  a 
point  of  great  importance,  commanding  the  trade  of  the 
northern  provinces  of  China,  and  contiguous  to  Corea 
and  Japan.  The  "  Friend  of  India,"  a  leading  paper,  "  is 
possessed  with  a  most  vehement  desire,"  says  the  editor 
of  the  "'  China  Mail,"  "  that  the  British,  without  infring- 
ing their  '  political  morality,'  could  contrive  some  means 


*  Letter  to  the  Hon.  C.  J.  Ingersoll,  chairman  of  the  committee  on  foreign 
affairs,  containing  some  brief  notices  respecting  the  present  state,  productions, 
trade,  commerce,  &,c.  of  the  Comoro  Islands,  Abyssinia,  Persia,  Burii^,  Cochin 
China,  the  Indian  Archipelago,  and  Japan  ;  and  reconmiending  that  a  special 
mission  be  sent  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  to  make  treaties  and 
extend  our  commercial  relations  with  those  countries:  by  Aaron  H.  Palmer, 
councillor  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States, 


58  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

of  obtaining  the  cession  of  Chusan,  which,  in  their  hands, 
he  beheves,  could  be  converted  into  a  second  Singapore, 
and  become  one  of  the  largest  mercantile  marts  of  the 
East."* 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  stated,  and  from  the 
opinions  expressed  in  foreign  journals,  that  the  attention 
of  the  civilized  world  has  been  suddenly  attracted  to  the 
Eastern  Archipelago,  and  it  is  only  surprising,  consider- 
ing the  knowledge  possessed  by  the  European  nations,  of 
the  rich  productions  of  these  islands,  and  the  miserable 
state  in  which  a  large  portion  of  their  inhabitants  live, 
that  efforts  have  not  before  been  made  to  colonize  them, 
and  bring  them  under  European  rule. 

The  Spaniards  contamted  themselves  with  the  Philippines, 
but  the  Dutch,  more  enterprising,  as  well  as  more  ambi- 
tious, extended  their  conquests  to  Sumatra,  Java,  the  Mo- 
luccas, and  recently  to  Bali,  Sumbawa,  Timor  and  Celebes. 
But  these  are  not  all,  for  wherever  our  ships  push  tlicir 
way  through  these  innumerable  islands,  they  find  scatter- 
ed, far  and  wide,  their  unobtrusive  commercial  stations, 
generally  protected  by  a  fort  and  a  cruiser. 

It  is  said  that  the  natives  feel  no  attachment  for  their 
Dutch  rulers,  which,  as  they  possess  so  wide  spread  ado- 
minion  in  the  Archipelago,  is  much  to  be  regretted  ;  for 
this  feeling  of  animosity  against  them,  may  effect  the  rela- 
tions that  may  be  hereafter  formed  between  the  aboriginal 
races  and  other  Christian  people.  Attempts  will  doubtless 
be  made  to  prejudice  the  natives  against  the  Enghsh,  but 
the  popularity  of  Mr.  Brooke  at  Sarawak,  in  Borneo,  his 
kindness  to  the  natives,  and  the  destruction  of  the  pirates  by 
the  British,  will  no  doubt  gain  for  them  throughout  the  Ar- 
chipelago, a  name  and  an  influence  which  the  jealousies  of 
other  nations  cannot  counteract.  The  natives  of  these 
island^except  those  of  the  interior,  are  strictly  a  trading 
and  commercial  people.     Addicted  to  a  seafaring  life,  and 

*  See  "  China  Mail"  newspaper,  for  March  26,  1846. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  69 

tempted  by  a  love  of  gain,  they  traverse  these  seas  in 
search  of  the  various  articles  of  commerce  which  are 
eagerly  sought  after  by  traders  for  the  European,  India, 
and  Chinese  markets.  Piracy,  which  abounds  in  this 
region,  grows  out  of  this  love  of  trade — this  desire  for  the 
accumulation  of  wealth — and  we  believe  that  nothing 
would  tend  to  suppress  crime  so  effectually  as  the  estab- 
lishment of  commercial  ports  throughout  the  Archipelago. 
It  is  said  that  the  population  embraced  in  the  twelve 
thousand  islands  of  which  Polynesia  consists,  amounts  to 
about  forty  milhons.  No  part  of  the  world  equals  it  in  the 
great  variety  and  value  of  its  products.  There  is  scarcely 
an  island  but  is  accessible  in  ever}'^  direction,  abounding  in 
spacious  bays  and  harbors,  and  the  larger  ones  in  navi- 
gable rivers.  The  people  are  generally  intelhgent,  and 
susceptible  of  a  higher  degree  of  cultivation  than  the 
natives  of  Africa,  or  of  many  parts  of  the  adjacent  con- 
tinent. 

To  obtain  a  station  or  an  island  in  this  vast  Archipel- 
ago, we  should  require  neither  the  outlay  of  a  large  sum 
of  money,  nor  the  loss  of  human  hfe  ;  no  governments 
would  be  subjected,  or  kings  overthrown.  Civilization 
and  its  attendant  blessings  would  take  the  place  of  bar- 
barism, idolatry  would  be  supplanted  by  Christianity,  and 
the  poor  natives,  now  bowed  down  by  cruelty  and  op- 
pression, would,  under  the  care  of  an  enlightened  gov- 
ernment, become  elevated  in  the  scale  of  social  existence. 

The  cultivation  of  spices  in  the  Archipelago,  and  the 
acts  by  which  the  monopoly  is  secured  by  the  Dutch  in 
the  Moluccas,  reflect  httle  credit  on  human  nature.  "  No 
where  in  the  world  have  the  aboriginal  tribes  been  treated 
with  greater  cruelty ;  and  in  some  cases  literal  extermi- 
nation has  overtaken  them.  Their  tribe  has  been  extin- 
guished, they  have  been  cut  off  to  a  man,  and  that  merely 
lest,  in  order  to  obtain  a  humljlc  sulxsistencc,  they  should 
presume  to  trade  on  their  own  account  in  those  costly  spi- 
ces, the  sale  of  which,  without  right  or  reason,  Holland  has 


60  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

hitherto  thought  proper  to  appropriate  to  herself.  No 
form  of  servitude,  moreover,  equals  the  slavery  of  those 
who  are  engaged  in  the  culture  of  the  nutmeg-tree. 
They  toil  without  hope.  No  change  ever  diversifies  their 
drudgery ;  no  holiday  gladdens  them  ;  no  reward,  how- 
ever trifling,  repays  extra  exertion,  or  acts  as  a  stimulus 
for  the  future.  The  wretched  slave's  life  is  one  monoto- 
nous round,  a  mere  alternation  of  toil  and  sleep,  to  be 
terminated  only  by  death."*  The  northern  portions  of 
New  Guinea,  as  well  as  other  islands,  are  in  the  same 
latitude  as  Banda  and  Amboyna,  and  produce  the  nut- 
meg and  other  spices.  They  might  be  extensively  culti- 
vated by  the  natives,  if  encouragement  was  given  them  ; 
and  a  sufficient  supply  obtained  for  all  the  markets  of 
Europe  and  America. 

The  Island  of  Bali,  lying  east  of  Java,  from  which 
it  is  separated  by  a  narrow  strait,  has  recently  been  sub- 
jected by  the  Dutch.  Some  difficulty  growing  out  of  the 
commerce  with  the  people,  is  the  alleged  cause.  It  is  an 
island  of  great  importance  to  Holland,  and  would  seriously 
injure  her  commerce  with  Java,  should  any  other  Euro- 
pean nation  take  it  under  its  protection,  or  plant  a  colony 
there.  A  slight  pretext  therefore  sufficed  for  its  annexa- 
tion. 

New  CALED0^rIA  Islands.  Later  information  has  been 
received  from  the  Catholic  Missionaries  in  New  Caledo- 
nia ;  for  it  seems  that  even  in  those  distant  and  barbarous 
islands  both  Protestant  and  Catholic  are  represented. 
The  Propaganda  annals  contain  some  interesting  accounts 
of  the  natives  of  these  islands,  and  of  other  facts  of  im- 
portance in  Ethnology.  Two  Catholic  missionaries,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Rougeyron  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Colin,  had  been 
wenty  months  on  these  islands,  during  which  time  they 
had  accomplished  nothing  in  the  way  of  conversions,  and 


*  Frazer's  Magazine,  1846.     In  this  Magazine  is  an  article  of  mUch  intereat 
on  the  commercial  relations  of  the  Indian  Archipelago. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  Gl 

but  little  towards  improving  the  moral  condition  of  the 
natives.  It  was  hardly  time  to  expect  much,  as  they  had 
only  then  begun  to  speak  the  language  of  the  country, 
which  they  found  very  difficult  to  acquire.  The  natives 
are  a  most  lazy  and  wretched  people.  They  cultivate  the 
ground  with  the  aid  of  a  piece  of  pointed  wood,  or  with 
their  nails,  but  never  in  proportion  to  their  wants.  For 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  they  are  compelled  to  live 
upon  a  few  fish,  shell-fish,  roots  and  the  bark  of  trees,  and 
at  times  when  pressed  by  hunger,  worms,  spiders  and 
lizards  are  eagerly  devoured  by  them.  They  are  canni- 
bals in  every  sense  of  the  word,  and  openly  feed  on  the 
flesh  of  their  enemies.  Yet  they  possess  the  cocoa,  bana- 
na and  yam,  with  a  luxuriant  soil,  from  which,  with  a 
little  labor,  an  abundance  could  be  raised. 

Among  no  savage  tribes  are  the  women  worse  treated 
than  here.  They  are  completely  at  the  mercy  of  their 
cniel  and  tyrannical  husbands.  Compelled  to  carry  bur- 
dens, to  collect  food,  and  cultivate  the  fields,  their  existence 
promises  them  but  little  enjoyment ;  and  when  there  is 
any  fruit  or  article  of  delicacy  procured,  it  is  at  once 
tabooed  by  the  husband,  so  that  she  cannot  touch  it  but  at 
the  peril  of  her  life. 

The  missionaries  had  begun  to  expostulate  with  the  na- 
tives on  the  horrors  of  eating  their  prisoners,  and  other  vices 
to  which  they  were  addicted,  and  observe  that  "  a  happy 
change  has  already  taken  place  among  them  ;  that  they 
were  less  disposed  to  robbery,  and  that  their  wars  are  less 
frequent."*  They  are  beginning  to  understand  the  motive 
which  brought  the  missionaries  to  them,  and  already  show 
a  desire  to  be  instructed. 

The  protestant  missions  have  not  accomplished  any 
more  than  the  Catholic's  among  these  savages.  The  la- 
test accounts  state  that  four  of  the  native  teachers  who 
had  been  converted  to  Christianity,  had  been  cruelly  mur- 

•  Annals  of  the  Propagation  of  the  Faith.     Sept.  184G. 

6 


62 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY. 


dered,  and  that  such  was  the  hostihty  of  the  chiefs  at  the 
isle  of  Pines,  that  the  prospects  of  the  missionaries  were 
most  discouraging.* 

SooLoo  Islands. — Mr.  Itier,  attache  to  the  French  mis- 
sion in  China,  has  recently  visited  a  cluster  of  islands 
lying  to  the  northeast  of  Borneo,  between  that  island 
and  Mindanao.t  His  researches  on  the  natural  history 
and  geology  of  these  islands,  are  of  much  interest.  The 
soil  is  exceedingly  fertile,  and  the  climate  more  healthy 
than  is  usual  in  intertropical  climates.  The  sugar  cane, 
cocoa,  rice,  cotton,  the  bread  fruit,  indigo,  and  spices  of 
all  kinds,  are  among  their  products.  Fruits  and  vegeta- 
bles of  a  great  variety,  are  abundant,  and  of  a  superior 
qualit5^  Nine-tenths  of  the  soil  is  still  covered  with  the 
primitive  forest,  of  which  teak-wood,  so  valuable  in  ship- 
building, forms  a  part.  A  considerable  commerce  with 
China  and  Manilla  is  carried  on,  and  from  ten  to  twelve 
thousand  Chinese  annually  visit  the  island  of  Basilan,  the 
most  northerly  of  the  group,  to  cultivate  its  soil,  and  take 
away  its  products.  The  peculiar  situation  of  these  islands, 
and  their  contiguity  to  the  Philippines,  to  Celebes,  Bor- 
neo, Manilla,  China,  and  Singapore,  make  them  well 
adapted  for  a  European  colony.  In  fact,  there  do  not 
appear  to  be  any  islands  of  the  East  Indies  of  equal  im- 
portance, and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  with  the  present 
desice  manifested  by  European  nations  for  colonizing,  this 
desirable  spot  will  ere  long  be  secured  by  one  of  them. 
The  Sooloo  group  embraces  sixty  inhabited  islands,  gov- 
erned by  a  Sultan,  residing  at  Soung.  One  of  these 
would  be  an  advantageous  point  for  an  American  colony 
or  station. 

The  same  gentleman  has  presented  to  the  Geographical 
Society  of  Paris,  the  journal  of  a  voyage  and  visit  to  the 
Philippine  islands,  from  which  it  appears  that  that  large 

*  London  Evangelical  Magazine,  August,  1846. 

t  Bulletin   de  la  Societ6  de  Gcogiaphie,  1846.     Extrait  d'une  description  de 
I'arcbipel  des  iles  Solo,  p.  311. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  fiS 

and  important  group  is  not  inferior  in  interest  to  the 
Sooloo  islands.  The  natural  history  and  geology,  the 
soil  and  its  products,  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
people,  their  commerce  and  politic;!.!  history,  are  described 
in  detail.*  The  group  embraces  about  twelve  hundred 
islands,  with  a  population  of  4,000,000,  of  whom  about 
8,000  are  Chinese,  4,000  Spaniards,  120,000  of  a  mixed 
race,  and  the  remainder  natives. 

The  Nicobar  Islands,  a  group  nineteen  in  number, 
in  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  have  again  attracted  the  attention 
of  the  Danish  government,  by  which  an  expedition  has 
been  sent  with  a  view  to  colonize  them  anew.  The  Danes 
planted  a  colony  there  in  1756,  but  were  compelled  to 
abandon  it  in  consequence  of  the  insalubrity  of  the  cli- 
mate. Subsequently  the  French  made  an  attempt  with 
no  better  success. 

Australia.  This  vast  island  continues  to  attract  the 
attention  of  geographers  and  naturalists.  Its  interior  re- 
mains unknown,  notwithstanding   the    various   attempts 


*  Bulletin  de  la  Soci^t^  de  Geographic,  for  1846,  p.  365. 

Recent  publications  on  the  Eastern  Archipelago  and  Polynesia, 

Ethnology  and  Philology.  By  Horatio  Hale,  Philologist  of  the  U.  S.  Exploring 
Expedition,  imp.  4to.     Philadelphia,  1846. 

Reise  nach  Java,  und  Ausfliige  nach  den  Inseln  Mudura  und  S.  Helena  ;  von 
Dr.  Edward  Selberg,  8vo.     Oldenburg,  1845. 

Philippines  (les),  histoire,  geographic,  mceurs,  agriculture,  industrie  et  com- 
merce des  colonies  espagnoles  dans  I'Ocdanie  ;  par  J.  Mallat,  2  vols.  8vo., 
avec  un  atlas  in  folio.     Paris,  1846. 

The  expedition  of  H.  M.  S.  Dido,  for  the  suppression  of  piracy  ;  by  the  Hon. 
Capt.  Keppell,  with  extracts  from  the  journal  of  James  Brooke,  Esq.  2  vols.  8vo. 
London,  1846.  Reprinted  in  New  York. 

Trade  and  Travel  in  the  Far  East ;  or  recollections  of  twenty-one  years  passeil 
in  Java,  Singapore,  Australia  and  China,  by  G.  F.  Davidson,  post  8vo.  London, 
1846. 

Typee  :  Narrative  of  a  four  months*  residence  anionic  the  natives  of  the  Mar- 
quesas islands,  by  Herman  Melville.   12mo.  New  York,  1846. 

Besides  these,  The  Missionary  Herald,  the  Baptist  Missionary  Magazine,  Tiie 
London  Evangelical  Magazine,  the  Annals  of  th«  Society  for  the  Propagation  of 
the  Faith,  as  well  as  other  similar  journals,  contain  many  articles  of  great  interest 
on  the  various  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago  and  the  South  Sea  Islands. 


64 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 


which  liave  been  made  from  various  points  to  penetrate  it. 
The  explorations  of  scientific  men  during  the  last  four 
years  have  been  productive  of  valuable  information  rela- 
ting to  its  geography,  ethnography,  geology  and  natural 
history. 

Among  the  most  eminent  and  successful  in  this  field,  is 
the  Count  de  Strzelecki.  This  gentleman,  as  early  as  the 
year  1840,  made  an  extensive  tour  into  the  southwestern 
part  of  Australia,  in  which  he  discovered  an  extensive  tract 
called  Gipp's  Land,  containing  an  extent  of  five  thou- 
sand six  hundred  square  miles,  a  navigable  lake  and 
several  rivers,  and  from  the  richness  of  the  soil,  present- 
ing an  inviting  prospect  to  settlers.  His  explorations 
were  continued  during  the  years  1842  '43  and  '44,  and 
in  the  following  year  the  results  were  given  to  the  public,* 
"  comprehending  the  fruits  of  five  years  of  continual  labor 
during  a  tour  of  seven  thousand  miles  on  foot.  This  work 
treats,  within  a  moderate  compass,  of  the  history  and  re- 
sults of  the  surveys  of  those  countries,  of  their  climate, 
their  geology,  botany  and  zoology,  as  well  as  of  the 
physical,  moral  and  social  state  of  the  aborigines,  and  the 
state  of  colonial  agriculture,  the  whole  illustrated  by  com- 
parisons with  other  countries  visited  by  himself  in  the 
course  of  twelve  years  travel  through  other  parts  of  the 
world."  For  these  extensive  explorations  and  discove- 
ries, and  for  his  valuable  work  in  which  they  are  em- 
bodied, the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London 
awarded  the  "  Founders"  gold  medal  to  Count  Strzelecki.f 

Additional  information  to  our  knowledge  of  Australia 
is  contained  in  Capt.  Stokes's  late  work  detailing  the  dis- 
coveries made  by  himself  and  other  officers  attached  to 
H.  M.  S.  Beagle.  These  discoveries  consist  of  a  minute 
examination  of  a  large  part  of  the  coast  of  that  island,  of 


*  Physical  description  of  New  South  Wales  and  Van  Dieman's  Land, 
t  Address  of  Lord  Colchester  to  Count  Strzelecki  on  presenting  him  with  the 
medal. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  05 

several  rivers  on  its  northern  and  northwestern  sides,  and 
of  expeditions  into  the  interior.  Natives  were  seen  in 
small  numbers  in  various  parts,  all  of  whom  were  in  the 
lowest  state  of  barbarism.  A  remarkable  diversity  of 
character  was  noticed,  however,  among  the  natives  of 
different  localities,  some  being  most  kindly  disposed,  and 
approaching  the  strangers  without  fear,  as  though  they 
were  old  acquaintances,  whilst  others  manifested  the 
greatest  hostihty  and  aversion.  In  the  instances  referred 
to,  they  had  never  seen  white  men  before.  Capt.  Stokes 
says  his  "whole  experience  teaches  him  that  these  were 
not  accidental  differences,  but  that  there  is  a  marked  con- 
trast in  the  disposition  of  the  various  tribes,  for  which  he 
will  not  attempt  to  account."*  The  natives  at  Port  Ess- 
ington,  on  the  porth,  appear  to  be  in  some  respects  supe- 
rior to  those  in  other  parts  of  the  island.  Their  imple- 
ments of  war  and  their  canoes  show  a  connexion  with  the 
Malays.  They  also  have  a  musical  instrument  made  of 
bamboo,  the  only  one  yet  found  among  them.t  Thorite 
of  circumcision  was  practised  on  the  northern  coast  near 
the  gulf  of  Carpentaria.  On  the  southern  coast,  at  the  head 
of  the  Australian  bight,  it  had  before  been  noticed  by 
Mr.  EyrcJ  For  the  practice  of  this  ancient  rite  at  such 
remote  distances,  and  confined  too  within  such  narrow 
limits,  we  can  only  account,  by  some  early  migration  or 
visit  of  people  by  whom  it  was  practised.  Nothing  has 
yet  been  done  towards  a  comparison  of  the  languages 
spoken  by  the  Austrahan  tribes.  In  the  late  cruise  of 
Capt.  Stokes,  natives  of  the  south  were  taken  to  the 
northern  parts  of  the  island,  but  in  their  intercourse  with 
the  people  of  the  latter,  they  were  unable  to  make  them- 
selves understood.  .  It  is  possible,  however,  that  like  the 
languages  of  the  American  Indians,  though  they  may  ex- 
hibit a  wide  difference  in  words  for  similar  objects,  the 
grammatical  structure  ma}'^  be  the  same.     This  is  a  more 


•  Discoveries  in  Australia,  vol.  1.  p.  252.         +  p.  394.         }  vol  2.   p.  10. 

6* 


06  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGV. 

important  test  in  ethnological  comparison,  and  should  be 
applied  before  any  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  Australia 
are  extinct. 

By  far  the  most  important  journey  yet  accomplished  for 
the  exploration  of  Australia,  is  that  of  Dr.  Leichardt. 
This  gentleman,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Gilbert,  a  natural- 
ist, and  six  others,  started  from  Moreton  Bay,  on  the 
southeastern  shore  of  the  island,  in  October,  1844,  to 
penetrate  to  Port  Essington,  on  its  most  northerly  point ; 
in  order,  if  possible,  to  open  a  direct  route  to  Sydney. 
Several  months  after  the  party  left,  reports  were  brought 
to  Moreton  Bay  that  they  had  been  cut  off  by  the  natives. 
This  was  proved  to  be  untrue  by  an  expedition  sent  out 
for  the  purpose,  who  traced  the  travellers  four  hundred 
miles  into  the  interior.  Dr.  Leichardt  found  it  impossible 
to  penetrate  into  the  interior  in  a  direct  course,  on  account 
of  high  table-land,  and  the  absence  of  water ;  and  this 
circumstance  compelled  him  to  keep  within  six  or  seven 
degrees  of  the  coast.  Their  six  months'  provisions  being 
exhausted,  the  only  resource  of  the  party  was  the  horses 
and  stock  bullocks, — and  with  these  the  strictest  economy 
was  necessary.  One  was  killed  as  provision  for  a  month 
— sometimes  a  horse,  at  others  a  bollock.  For  six  months 
prior  to  reaching  Port  Essington,  the  party  were  reduced 
to  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  meat  per  day — frequently  pu- 
trescent— unaccompanied  with  salt,  bread,  or  any  kind  of 
vegetable.  In  the  neighborhood  of  the  Gulf  of  Carpenta- 
ria, Mr.  Gilbert,  the  naturalist,  was  surprised  by  the  na- 
tives, and  killed.  Tlie  remainder  reached  Port  Essington 
on  the  2d  of  December,  1845.* 

The  narrative  of  Dr.  Leichardt's  expedition  has  not 
yet  been  published  in  detail.  The,  reportt  which  has  ap- 
peared consists  chiefly  of  notices  of  the  geography  of  the 


«  London  Athenjeum,  July  25,  1846.     Ibid.  Aug.  8,  1846. 
t  Report  of  Dr.  Leichardt's  Expedition,  Simmonds'  Colonial  Magazu.-.  vol.  2, 
1845. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  67 

region  traversed,  the  soil,  pvoJuctioiis,  climate,  &c.  He 
encountered  natives  in  many  places,  sometimes  in  con- 
siderable numbers.  By  some  they  were  kindly  received, 
by  others  treated  as  enemies.  Their  characteristics  are 
not  noticed.  The  most  extraordinary  feature  in  Dr.  Lei- 
chardt's  narrative  is  the  constant  succession  of  water. 
Although  the  season  was  an  exceedingly  dry  one,  no  rain 
havinw  fallen  for  seven  months,  vet  from  the  commence- 
ment  to  the  close  of  his  year  and  a  half's  expetlition, 
throughout  the  whole  length  and  breadth  of  the  vast  re- 
gion he  traversed,  he  was  continually  meeting  with  fresh 
water,  in  the  forms  of"  pools,  lagoons,  brooks,  wells,  water- 
holes,  rocky  basins,  living  springs,  swamps,  streams, 
creeks  or  rivers."  The  soil  in  many  places  was  of  the 
best  kind,  covered  with  luxuriant  grass  and  herbs.  Of  the 
former,  some  twenty  kinds  were  seen.  In  lat.  18°  48'  he 
found  a  level  country,  openly  timbered,  with  fine  plains, 
extending  many  miles  in  length  and  breadth.  The  flats 
bordering  the  creeks  and  rivers  were  covered  with  tall 
grass,  and  the  table-lands  presented  equally  attractive 
features.  "  The  whole  country  along  the  east  coast  of 
the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria  is  highly  adapted  for  pastoral 
pursuits.  Cattle  and  horses  would  thrive  exceedingly 
well,  but  the  climate  and  soil  are  not  adapted  to  sheep. 
Large  plains,  limited  by  narrow  belts  of  open  forest  land  ; 
fine  grassy  meadows  along  frequent  chains  of  lagoons, 
and  shady  forest  land  along  the  rivers,  render  this  coun- 
try inviting  to  the  squatter."  Dr.  Leichardt  thinks  there 
are  many  districts  suitable  for  the  cultivation  of  rice  and 
cotton. 

In  regard  to  a  communication  between  the  settlements, 
it  is  the  decided  opinion  of  the  Doctor,  that  no  line  of  road 
can  be  effected  direct  firom  Fort  Bourke  to  the  northern 
settlement.  A  route  from  Moreton  ba}^  to  the  gult  ot" 
Carpentaria  will  be  easily  constructed.  The  whole  coast 
is  backed  by  ranges  of  mountains,  consisting,  nearest  the 
sea,  generally  of  granite  and    basaltic  rocks,  wliich  he 


68  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

calls  the  granite  range  ;  behind  this  is  a  second  range  of 
sandstone.  Descending  from  this  and  again  rising,  they 
entered  upon  the  table-land ;  which  they  could  nowhere 
penetrate,  so  as  to  determine  what  might  be  the  character 
of  the  central  country.  It  was  covered  with  a  dense 
shrub,  had  no  water ;  and  frequently  there  was  difficulty 
in  descending  from  it,  owing  to  the  perpendicular  cliffs 
and  deep  ravines.  They  passed  several  rivers  all  of 
which  ran  easterly  towards  the  coast.  After  reaching  the 
Gulf  of  Carpentaria,  they  again  ascended  the  table-land, 
and  suffered  extremely  for  want  of  water.  The  country 
beneath  them  was  delightful  to  look  at,  but  they  were  un- 
able to  descend  to  it,  until  they  reached  the  dip  towards 
the  Alligators.  Here  the  country  surpassed  in  fertility  any 
thing  that  they  had  seen. 

By  later  advices  from  Sydney,  it  appears  that  this  en- 
terprising and  zealous  traveller,  is  again  making  arrange- 
ments for  another  expedition  to  explore  the  interior  of  this 
great  island.*     The  Doctor  now  proposes  to  leave  Moreton 


*  London  Athenseum.     Nov.  3,  1846. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  latest  works  on  Australia. 

Physical  description  of  New  South  Wales  and  Van  Dieman's  Land,  accompa- 
nied by  a  Geographical  map,  by  P.  E.  de  Strzelecki.     8vo.     1845. 

South  Australia  and  its  Mines  ;  with  an  account  of  Captain  Grey's  govern- 
ment, by  Fr.  Button.     Bvo.     London,  1846. 

History  of  New  South  Wales,  from  its  settlement  to  the  close  of  the  year 
1844,  by  Thomas  H.  Braim.     2  vols,  post,  8vo.     London,  1846. 

Reminiscences  of  Australia,  with  hints  on  the  Squatters'  life,  by  C.  P.  Hodgson, 
post,  8vo.     London,  1846. 

A  visit  to  the  Antipodes;  with  some  reminiscences  of  a  sojourn  in  Australia. 
By  a  Squatter.     8vo.     London,  1846. 

Enterprise  in  tropical  Australia.     By  George  W.  Earl.     8vo.     London,  1846. 

Impressions  of  Savage  life,  and  scenes  in  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  By 
G.  F.  Augas.     2  vols.  8vo.     London,  1847. 

Travels  in  New  South  Wales.  By  Alexander  Majoribanks.  12mo.  Lond. 
1847. 

Simmonds'  Colonial  Magazine  contains  a  vast  deal  of  information  relating  to 
Australia,  as  well  as  to  other  British  Colonies,  and  is  unquestionably  the  best 
book  of  reference  on  subjects  relating  to  the  history  and  present  condition  of  the 
British  colonies  of  any  work  extant. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  69 

bay  and  endeavor  to  trace  the  sources  of  the  rivers  wliich 
flow  into  the  Gulf  of  Carpentaria.  He  will  then  proceed 
northwest,  penetrating  directly  across  the  unknown  and 
unexplored  interior,  forming  the  arc  of  a  circle,  to  Swan 
river.  This  will  be  the  most  daring  journey  yet  attempt- 
ed ;  but  under  the  direction  of  one  who  has  already  shown 
so  much  perseverance  and  undergone  such  severe  hard- 
ships, it  is  to  be  hoped  that  his  efforts  may  be  crowned 
with  success. 

An  expedition  for  the  exploration  of  Australia,  under  the 
command  of  Sir  Thomas  L.  Mitchell,  is  at  present  employ- 
ed in  traversing  the  unknown  parts  of  this  vast  country. 
When  last  heard  from,  the  expedition  had  reached  the 
latitude  of  29°  45'  longitude  147°  34'.  The  particulars 
of  Dr.  Leichardt's  journey  have  been  sent  to  him  to  guide 
him  in  his  course  of  future  operations.* 

Lycia,  Asia  Minor.  This  interesting  region  has  been 
further  explored  by  two  English  gentlemen,  Lieut.  Spratt, 
R.  N.,  and  Professor  Forbes,  who,  accompanied  by  the 
Reverend  E.  T.  Daniel,  embarked  from  England  in  the 
year  1842,  in  H.  M.  ship  Beacon,  for  the  coast  of  Lycia, 
for  the  purpose  of  bringing  home  the  remarkable  monu- 
ments of  antiquity  discovered  by  Sir  Charles  Fellows. 

This  gentleman,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  the  first 
who  in  modern  times  successfully  explored  the  interior. 
He  visited  the  sites  of  many  ancient  cities  and  towns  ; 
copied  numerous  inscriptions,  by  means  of  which  he  was 
enabled  to  identify  the  names  of  fifteen  out  of  eighteen 
cities ;  and  made  sketches  of  the  most  interesting  sculp- 
tures and  monuments. 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  country  so  often  spoken  of  by 
the  Greek  and  Roman  historians  should  not  have  sooner 
attracted  attention,  when  districts  contiguous  to,  as  well 
as  far  beyond,  have  been  so  thoroughly  explored.  The 
ruins  on  the  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor,  were  first  made 

*  Simmond's  Colonial  Magazine.    Nov.  1846. 


70  THE  PKOGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

known  by  Captain  Beaufort,  who  discovered  them  when 
employed  in  making  a  survey  of  this  coast.  Several  tra- 
vellers subsequently  made  short  excursions  into  the  country; 
but  it  was  not  until  Mr.  now  Sir  Charles  Fellows,  in  1838 
and  1840,  made  his  visits  and  explorations,  that  the  riches 
of  the  interior  in  historical  monuments  were  disclosed. 

The  relics  of  antiquity  brought  to  light  in  these  research- 
es, consist  first  of  the  ruins  of  large  cities,  many  of  which, 
by  reason  of  their  isolated  situation  among  the  high  lands 
and  mountains,  seem  to  have  been  preserved  from  the 
destruction  which  usually  attends  depopulated  cities  situ- 
ated in  more  accessible  places. 

These  ruined  cities  contain  amphitheatres  more  or  less 
spacious,  and  generally  in  a  good  state  of  preservation, 
temples,  aqueducts,  and  sepulchral  monuments,  together 
with  numbers  of  lesser  buildings,  the  dwelling  houses  of 
the  inhabitants.  The  ruins  of  Christian  churches  are  also 
found  in  many  places,  and  in  one  instance  a  large  and 
elegant  cathedral ;  the  purposes  of  these  are  satisfactorily 
made  out  by  their  inscriptions ;  and  the  date  of  their 
erection,  when  not  otherwise  known,  may  be  fixed  by 
their  style  of  architecture.  The  most  numerous  as  well 
as  the  most  interesting  monuments  of  these  ancient  cities, 
are  their  sepulchres.  In  some  instances  where  a  moun- 
tain or  high  rock  is  contiguous,  it  is  pierced  with  thousands 
of  tombs,  presenting  an  appearance  similar  to  Petraea  in 
Idumea,  sometimes  called  the  City  of  the  Dead.  The 
roads  in  all  directions  are  lined  with  tombs  and  sarco- 
phagi, many  of  them  covered  with  elaborate  sculptures 
and  inscriptions.  It  is  by  means  of  the  latter,  which  abound 
and  which  exist  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation,  that  the 
names  of  the  cities  are  identified  and  other  historical  facts 
brought  to  light.  The  following  is  a  translation  of  the 
most  common  form  of  sepulchral  inscription. 

"  THIS    TOMB    APOLLONIDES,    SON    OF    MOLISSAS,    MADE 

FOR    HIS    WIFE    AND    CHILDREN  :    AND    IF    ANY    ONE 

VIOLATES    IT,   LET    HIM    PAY    A    FINE." 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  71 

Coins  too  are  found,  which  possess  considerable  histO' 
ric  interest. 

In  architecture,  we  find  excellent  specimens  of  the 
several  Grecian  orders,  exhibiting  both  the  perfection  and 
declension  of  the  art.  The  works  of  Sir  Charles  Fellows 
abound  in  architectural  representations.  A  pointed  arch 
was  discovered  by  Lieut.  Spratt  and  Professor  Forbes  in 
the  interior  of  a  tomb  (a  sketch  of  which  is  given)  rmiong 
the  ruins  of  Antiphellas.  This  conclusively  shows,  that 
this  peculiar  form  of  the  arch  was  not  first  introduced  with 
Gothic  architecture,  as  has  been  generally  believed,  but 
belongs  to  a  period  anterior  to  the  Christian  era.  An 
inscription  in  the  Lycian  and  Latin  was  found  on  the 
monument. 

The  language  of  the  ancient  Lycians  is  an  important 
discovery  which  has  resulted  from  these  researches.  A 
bilingual  inscription  in  Lycian  and  Greek  first  led  to  the 
key,  and  similar  inscriptions,  subsequently  discovered, 
have  furnished  sufficient  materials  for  ascertaining  the 
values  of  the  several  letters  of  the  alphabet,  which  consists 
of  twenty-seven  letters,  two  of  which  are  still  doubtful. 
Able  disquisitions  on  the  language  have  been  written  by 
Mr.  Sharpe  and  Professor  Grotefend. 

In  regard  to  the  antiquity  of  the  monuments,  and  the 
people  who  spoke  the  language  called  Lycian,  now  first 
made  known  through  these  inscriptions,  we  are  enabled 
to  arrive  at  conclusions  which  fix  their  era  with  some  de- 
gree of  certainty.  The  earliest  inscription  yet  decypherod 
is  a  bilingual  one,  which  consists  of  an  edict,  in  which 
the  name  of  Harpagus,  or  his  son,  a  well  known  personage, 
is  mentioned  ;  which  would  give  a  date  of  530  to  500  B.  C. 
This  is  about  the  period  of  the  earliest  arrow-head  inscrip- 
tions yet  known — namely,  those  at  Behistun,  of  the  age 
of  Darius,  decyphered  by  Major  Rawlinson.  The  lan- 
guage belongs  to  the  same  family  as  the  Zend  and  old 
Persian,  and  is  supposed  to  have  been  in  use  in  the  same 
age  as  the  former,  and  along  with  that  of  the  Persepolitan 


72 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 


inscriptions.  The  sculptures  too,  bear  some  resemblance  to 
the  figures  on  the  Persian  monuments,  particularly  the  well 
known  figure  with  an  umbrella,  so  common  on  the  latter. 

Other  reasons  are  adduced  by  scholars  for  fixing  the 
date  of  the  Lycian  language  not  before  the  fifth  century 
B.  C,  or  to  the  age  of  Herodotus.  This  historian  was 
from  the  adjoining  province  of  Caria ;  and  as  might  be 
expected,  gives  accounts  of  the  Lycians  before  his  time, 
but  does  not  say  that  they  spoke  a  language  different  from 
his  own,  or  from  that  of  the  entire  region, — a  fact  that  he 
would  not  have  overlooked  had  such  been  the  case. 

It  is  believed  that  Cyrus,  when  he  subjected  this  country, 
brought  in  some  people  from  his  Persian  dominions,  who 
afterwards  became  the  dominant  party,  and  introduced 
their  language.* 

It  is  surprising  to  find  the  names  of  these  Lycian  cities 
so  well  preserved  when  the  descendants  of  its  ancient 
inhabitants  have  been  so  entirely  swept  out  of  the  country, 
and  replaced  by  a  people  differing  in  manners,  in  religion, 

*  Herodotus,  in  speaking  of  the  subjugation  of  Lycia,  by  Cyrus  and  Harpagus, 
says  ;  "  When  Harpagus  led  his  army  towards  Xanthus,  the  Lycians  boldly  ad- 
vanced to  meet  him,  and,  though  inferior  in  numbers,  behaved  with  the  greatest 
bravery.  Being  defeated  and  pursued  into  their  city,  they  collected  their  wives, 
children  and  valuable  effects,  into  the  citadel,  and  there  consumed  the  whole  in 

one  immense  fire Of  those  who  now  inhabit  Lycia,  calling  themselves  Xan- 

thians,  the  whole  are  foreigners,  eighty  families  excepted." — Clio,  176.  See  also 
Clio,  171-173. 

Herodotus  further  states  that  the  Lycians  originated  from  the  Cretans,  a  branch 
of  the  Hellenic  race  ;  and  Strabo,  in  a  fragment  preserved  from  Ephorus,  states 
that  the  Lycians  were  a  people  of  Greek  origin,  who  had  settled  in  the  country 
previously  occupied  by  the  barbarous  tribes  of  Mylians  and  Solymi. 

Homer  briefly  alludes  to  the  Lycians,  who,  at  the  siege  of  Troy,  assisted  the 
Trojans  under  certain  rulers  whose  names  are  mentioned. — Iliad,  b.  v.  and  xii. 

Travels  in  Lycia,  Milytas  and  the  Cibyrates,  in  company  with  the  late  Rev. 
E.  T.  Daniel,  by  Lieut.  Spratt,  R.  N.,  and  Prof.  E.  Forbes.  2  vols.  8vo.  Lend. 
1847. 

A  Journal  written  during  an  excursion  in  Asia  Minor,  by  Charles  Fellows, 
royal  Bvo      London,  1839. 

An  account  of  Discoveries  in  Lycia,  in  1840.    By  Charles  Fellows,  royol  8vo. 

An  Essay  on  the  Lycian  language.  By  Daniel  Sharpe.  (In  the  appendix  to 
Fellows'  Journal.) 


THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY.  73 

and  having  no  interest  connected  with  the  locahty  to 
induce  them  to  respect  the  relics  or  names,  and  keep  aUve 
the  memory,  of  the  former  possessors  of  the  soil. 


ARABIA. 

If  we  now  turn  to  the  discoveries  that  have  reccnilly 
been  made  in  the  southern  part  of  Arabia,  we  find  much 
in  them  worthy  of  attention.  This  country,  called  m  the 
Scriptures  Hazarmaveth,  by  the  natives  Hadramaut,  and 
by  the  classical  writers  of  antiquity,  Arabia  Felix,  is  cele- 
brated as  being  the  kingdom  of  the  Queen  of  Sheba, 
who  visited  Solomon,  as  well  as  for  the  gold,  gems,  frank- 
incense and  other  precious  productions,  which  it  furnished 
in  ancient  times.  It  is  represented  by  the  Greek  and 
Roman  writers  as  a  populous  country,  with  many  exten- 
sive cities,  abounding  in  temples  and  palaces  ;  though  the 
palpable  fables  with  which  these  accounts  are  intermingled, 
show  that  at  least  they  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  the 
facts,  but  retailed  them  at  second  hand. 

After  Europe  had  awoke  from  the  intellectual  slumber 
of  the  dark  ages,  the  Arabs  were  long  regarded  only  as 
objects  of  religious  and  political  abhorrence.  The  dis- 
covery of  the  route  to  India  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
at  the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  by  diverting  the 
channel  of  Indo-European  traffic  from  the  Red  Sea,  left 
the  countries  bordering  upon  it  in  such  a  state  of  solitude, 
that  when  better  feelings  began  to  prevail,  there  was 
no  means  of  obtaining  any  direct  information  respecting 
them. 

In  1650,  the  illustrious  Pococke,  by  the  publication  of 
his  Specimensof  Ancient  Arabian  Histoiy,  extracted  from 
native  authors,  created  a  curiosity  respecting  Southern 
Arabia  and  its  ancient  inhabit;ints,  which  successive  col- 
lections of  a  similar  nature,  down  to  our  own  times,  have 
served  rather  to  increase  than  to  gratify.  The  researches 
7 


74 


THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 


of  Niebuhr,  Seetzen,  and  Burckhardt,  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  last,  and  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  made  us 
somewhat  acquainted  with  the  western  extremity  of  this 
country,  along  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  ;  but  before  the 
investigations  of  which  we  are  about  to  speak,  its  southern 
coast  had  never  been  accurately  explored,  and  the  great 
body  of  the  interior,  with  its  once  famous  capital,  Mareb, 
remained,  ks  it  ever  had  been,  completely  unknown  to 
and  unvisited  by  the  natives  of  Europe. 

The  hordes  of  pirates,  which  until  twenty  years  ago 
infested  the  Persian  Gulf,  caused  the  goverment  of  British 
India  to  order  a  complete  surve}'"  of  its  islands  and  both 
its  shores,  with  the  view  of  laying  bare  their  haunts,  and 
putting  an  end  to  their  depredations.  In  1829,  after  this 
service  had  been  performed,  the  project  then  recently  set 
on  foot  of  establishing  a  steam  communication  between 
England  and  Bombay,  caused  orders  to  be  issued  for  a 
similar  examination  of  the  Red  Sea. 

The  attention  of  the  officers  composing  the  expedition, 
was  not  restricted  to  the  technical  duties  in  which  they 
were  chiefly  engaged.  It  was  well  known  that  informa- 
tion of  eveiy  kind  would  be  prized  by  the  government 
which  they  served  ;  and  this,  together  with  the  monotony 
of  life  on  board  ship  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  novelty  of 
the  scenes  by  which  they  were  surrounded  on  the  other, 
seems  to  have  created  among  them  a  spirit  of  emulation 
that  led  to  the  most  interesting  discoveries  respecting  both 
the  geography  and  the  antiquities  of  the  adjacent  countries. 

Among  the  most  inteUigent  and  enterprising  of  these 
officers  was  the  late  Lieut.  Wellsted,  who  thus  describes 
his  reflections  on  joining  the  expedition  in  the  Red  Sea, 
on  the  12th  October,  1830.  "  From  the  earliest  dawn  of 
history,  the  northern  shores  of  the  Red  Sea  have  figured 
as  the  scene  of  events  which  both  religious  and  civil 
records  have  united  to  render  memorable.  Here  Moses 
and  the  Patriarchs  tended  their  flocks,  and  put  in  motion 
those  springs  of  civilization,  which,  from  that  period,  have 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  75 

never  ceased  to  urfje  forward  the  whole  human  race  in  the 
career  of  improvement.  On  the  one  hand  the  Valley  of 
the  Wanderings,  commencing  near  the  site  of  Mempliis, 
and  opening  upon  the  Red  Sea,  conducts  the  fancy  along 
the  track  pursued  by  the  Hebrews  during  their  (light 
out  of  Egypt ;  on  the  other  hand  are  Mount  t^inai,  bearing 
still  upon  its  face  the  impress  of  miraculous  events,  and 
beyond  it  that  strange,  stormy,  and  gloomy-looking  sea, 
once  frequented  by  Phoenician  merchants'  ships,  by  the 
fleets  of  Solomon  and  Pharaoh,  and  those  barks  of  later 
times  which  bore  the  incenses,  the  gems,  the  gold  and 
spices  of  the  East,  to  be  consumed  or  lavishly  squandered 
upon  favorites  at  the  courts  of  Macedonia  or  Rome.  But 
the  countries  lying  along  this  offshoot  of  the  Indian  Ocean, 
have  another  kind  of  interest,  peculiar  perhaps  to  them- 
selves. On  the  Arabian  side  we  find  society  much  what 
it  was  four  thousand  years  ago  ;  for  amidst  the  children 
of  Ishmael  it  has  undergone  but  trifling  modificati(ms. 
Their  tents  are  neither  better  nor  'worse  than  they  were 
when  they  purchased  Joseph  of  his  brethren,  on  their  way 
to  Egypt ;  the  Sheikhs  possess  no  other  power  or  influence 
than  they  enjoyed  then ;  the  relations  of  the  sexes  have 
suffered  little  or  no  changes  ;  they  eat,  drink,  clothe  them- 
selves, educate  their  children,  make  war  and  peace,  just 
as  they  did  in  the  day  of  the  Exodus.  But  on  the  oppo- 
site shores,  all  has  been  change,  fluctuation,  and  decay. 
While  the  Bedouins  have  wandered  with  their  camels 
and  their  flocks,  unaspiring,  unimproving,  they  have  looked 
across  the  gulf  and  beheld  the  Egyptian  overthrown  by 
♦the  Persian,  the  Persian  by  the  Greek,  the  Greek  by  the 
Roman,  and  the  Roman  in  his  turn  by  a  daring  band  from 
their  own  burning  deserts.  They  have  seen  empires 
grow  up  like  Jonah's  gourd.  War  has  swept  away  some  ; 
the  varieties  and  luxuries  of  peace  have  brought  otliers  to 
the  ground  ;  and  every  spot  along  these  shores  is  cele- 
brated." 

When  the  northeastern    and  the  western  shores  of  the 


76 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 


Arabian  peninsula  had  thus  been  investigated,  there  still 
remained  to  be  explored  the  south  eastern  shore,  the  coast 
of  the  anciently  renowned  province  ot  Hadramaut,  ex- 
tending from  Tehama,  on  the  Red  Sea,  to  the  province  of 
Oman,  at  the  entrance  to  the  Persian  Gulf;  and  it  is  to 
the  discoveries  made  in  this  almost  unknown  part  of  the 
world  that  I  now  wish  more  particularly  to  allude. 

In  the  year  1839  Capt.  Haines,  the  commander  of  the 
expedition  and  the  present  governor  of  Aden,  published 
his  survey  of  about  two  fifths  of  this  coast,  extending  from 
the  straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb  as  far  east  as  Missenaat, 
in  long.  51°  east  of  Greenwich.*  In  the  year  1845,  he 
published  his  further  survey  of  about  an  equal  portion 
extending  to  Gape  Isolette,  in  long.  57°  51',  leaving  about 
one  fifth  of  the  whole  extent  on  the  eastern  end  still  to  be 
explore  d.t 

In  June,  1843,  Adolphe  Baron  Wrede,  a  Hanoverian 
gentleman,  made  an  excursion  from  Makallah  on  the  coast, 
into  the  interior  of  the  country.  He  visited  among  other 
places  an  extensive  valley  called  Wadi  Doan,  which  he 
thus  describes.  "  The  sudden  appearance  of  the  Wadi 
Doan,  took  me  by  surprise  and  impressed  me  much  with 
the  grandeur  of  the  scene.  The  ravine,  five  hundred  feet 
wide  and  six  hundred  feet  in  depth,  is  enclosed  between 
perpendicular  rocks,  the  debris  of  which  form  in  one  part 
a  slope  reaching  to  half  their  height.  On  this  slope,  towns 
and  villages  rise  contiguously  in  the  form  of  an  amphithea- 
tre ;  while  below  the  date  grounds,  which  are  covered  with 
a  forest  of  trees,  the  river  about  twenty  feet  broad  and 
enclosed  by  high  and  walled  embankments  is  seen  winding* 
through  fields  laid  out  in  terraces,  then  pursuing  its  course 
in  the  open  plain,  irrigated  by  small  canals  branching 
from  it.  My  first  view  of  the  valley  disclosed  to  me  four 
towns  and    four  villages,  within  the  space  of  an  hour's 

*  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London.     Vol.  IX. 
t  Ibid.     Vol.  XV.  p.  104. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  77 

distance."  He  also  gives  an  account  of  some  curious  spots 
of  quicksand,  in  the  midst  of  the  great  desert  of  El- 
Akkaf,  which  are  regarded  with  superstitious  horror  Ijy 
the  wandering  Bedouins.  A  cord  of  sixty  fathoms  in 
length  with  a  plummet  at  the  end,  which  he  cast  into  one 
of  them,  disappeared  in  the  course  of  five  minutes.  His 
narrative  is  published  in  the  fourteenth  volume  of  the  .Jour- 
nal of  the  Ro3'^al  Geographical  Society  of  London. 

In  spite  of  the  glowing  descriptions  of  ancient  authors, 
the  idea  hitherto  entertained  of  this  region  in  modern  times, 
has  been  that  of  a  succession  of  desert  plains  and  sand- 
hills, with  nothing  to  give  animation  to  the  arid  scene  but 
solitary  groups  of  Bedouins  and  occasionally  a  passing  ca- 
ravan. The  recent  explorations,  however,  of  which  the  one 
just  quoted  is  a  specimen,  show  that  this  is  far  from  being 
a  correct  view  of  the  entire  country.  The  coast  is  thickly 
studded  with  fishing- villages  and  small  seaports,  which 
still  carry  on,  though  on  a  diminished  scale,  the  trade  with 
India  and  the  Persian  gulf,  which  has  existed  ever  since 
the  dawn  of  history.  It  is  true,  the  general  appearance 
of  the  country  along  the  coast,  consisting  as  it  does  of 
successive  ranges  of  sand-hills,  is  such  as  to  naturally  give 
rise  to  the  views  entertained  and  promulgated  by  navi- 
gators, who  have  had  no  opportunity  of  visiting  the  interior. 
But  the  deeper  researches  that  have  been  made  .during 
the  last  ten  or  twelve  years,  show  that  these  opinions  are 
very  erroneous  ;  for  besides  that  there  are  a  number  of 
green  valleys  running  down  to  the  coast,  produced  by 
streams  provided  with  water  for  at  least  a  good  part  of 
the  year,  no  sooner  has  the  traveller  surmounted  the" first 
range  of  sandhills,  than  his  sight  begins  to  be  regaled  with 
numerous  well  watered  valleys  and  mountains  covered 
with  verdure.  Besides  this,  even  in  those  parts  of  the 
country  where  the  surface  is  naturally  a  desert  ])lain,  the 
inhabitants  have  possessed  from  the  remotest  limes  the 
art  of  forming  flourishing  oases,  in  wliich  to  establish  their 
hamlets  and  towns;  an  operation  which,  as  Wellsted  re- 


78  THE    PROGBESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

marks,  is  effected  with  a  labor  and  skill  that  seem  more 
Chinese  than  Arabian.  This  traveller  says:  "  The 
greater  part  of  the  face  of  the  country  being  destitute  of 
running  streams  on  the  surface,  the  Arabs  have  sought  in 
elevated  places  for  springs  or  fountains  beneath  it.  A 
channel  from  this  fountain-head  is  then,  with  a  veiy  shght 
descent,  bored  in  the  direction  in  which  it  is  to  be  convey- 
ed, leaving  apertures  at  regular  distances,  to  afford  light 
and  air  to  those  who  are  occasionally  sent  to  keep  it 
clean.  In  this  manner  water  is  frequently  conducted  from 
a  distance  of  six  or  eight  miles,  and  an  unlimited  supply 
is  thus  obtained.  These  channels  are  usually  about  four 
feet  broad  and  two  feet  deep,  and  contain  a  clear  and 
rapid  stream.  Few  of  the  large  towns  or  oases  but  had 
four  or  five  of  these  rivulets  or  feleji  running  into  them. 
The  isolated  spots  to  which  water  is  thus  conveyed  pos- 
sess a  soil  so  fertile,  that  nearly  every  grain,  fruit,  or 
vegetable,  common  to  India,  Arabia,  or  Persia,  is  produced 
almost  spontaneously ;  and  the  tales  of  the  oases  will  be 
no  longer  regarded  as  an  exaggeration,  since  a  single  step 
conveys  the  traveller  from  the  glare  and  sand  of  the 
desert  into  a  fertile  tract,  watered  by  a  hundred  rills, 
teeming  with  the  most  luxuriant  vegetation,  and  embow- 
ered by  lofty  and  stately  trees,  whose  umbrageous  foliage 
the  fiercest  rays  of  a  noontide  sun  cannot  penetrate."* 
These  oases  and  the  towns  situated  in  them,  date  from 
various  periods ;  some  of  those  already  discovered  being 
evidently  of  considerable  antiquity.  In  describing  some 
of  these  towns,  Wellsted  says  :  "  The  instant  you  step 
from  the  Desert  within  the  Grove,  a  most  sensible  change 
of  the  atmosphere  is  experienced.  The  air  feels  cold  and 
damp  ;  the  ground  in  every  direction  is  saturated  with 
moisture  ;  and  from  the  density  of  the  shade,  the  whole 
appears  dark  and  gloomy.  To  avoid  the  damp  and  catch 
an  occasional  beam  of  the  sun  above  the  trees,  the  houses 

*  Wellsted's  Travels  in  Arabia,  Vol.  I.  p.  92. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  79 

are  usually  very  lofty.  A  parapet  encircling  the  upper 
part  is  turreted ;  and  on  some  of  the  largest  houses  guns 
are  mounted.  The  windows  and  doors  have  the  Sara- 
cenic arch  ;■  and  every  part  of  the  building  is  profusely 
decorated  with  ornaments  of  stucco  in  bas  relief,  some  in 
very  good  taste.  The  doors  are  also  cased  witli  brass, 
and  have  rings  and  other  massive  ornaments  of  the  same 
metal.  These  descriptions  relate  to  the  province  of 
f)man,  the  eastern  extremity  of  Southern  Arabia.  The 
glimpses  already  obtained  of  this  ancient  and  famous 
land,  sufficiently  prove  that  the  fortunate  traveller  who 
shall  succeed  in  obtaining  access  into  the  interior  of  the 
countiy,  which  has  always  been  a  terra  incognita  to  Euro- 
peans and  their  descendants,  will  find  an  abundance  of 
objects  of  interest  to  reward  his  zeal  and  self-devotion. 

There  is  however  another  class  of  interesting  objects, 
relating  to  the  ancient  history  of  the  country,  which  I 
have  not  alluded  to  until  now,  because  I  wish  to  speak  of 
them  more  particularly.  These  are  the  ancient  inscrrp- 
tions,  of  which  a  number  have  already  been  discovered 
and  in  part  decyphered. 

Several  Arabian  writers  have  stated  that  there  existed 
in  the  southern  part  of  their  country,  before  the  time  of 
Mohammed,  a  kind  of  writing  which  they  call  Himya- 
ritic,  after  the  name  of  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  tlie 
country,  the  Beni  Himyar.  But  the  confused  nature  of 
these  accounts,  together  with  the  Arab  practice  of  giving 
the  name  of  Him3'aritic  to  every  ancient  mode  of  writing 
which  they  were  unable  to  read,  caused  the  story  to  be 
regarded  as  little  better  than  fabulous.  In  the  year  1808 
the  late  Baron  de  Sacy  published  a  learned  treatise  on  the 
subject,  in  which  he  collected  all  the  Arabian  accounts  ; 
but  no  further  progress  was  made  in  the  enquiry,  until 
the  discovery  of  a  number  of  inscriptions  on  various 
massy  ruins  situated  along  the  coast  and  in  the  interior, 
by  officers  attached  to  the  surveying  expedition  already 
spoken  of,  in  the  years  1834  and  '5. 


80  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

Copies  of  these  inscriptions  were  transmitted  to 
the  late  Dr.  Gesenius  of  Halle,  one  of  the  first  Orien- 
talists of  Europe.  After  making  some  progress  in  the 
investigation,  he  gave  up  the  subject  to  his  colleague 
Dr.  Rodiger,  who  had  devoted  himself  to  it  with  great 
ardor,  and  success.  The  latter  published  a  copious  dis- 
sertation containing  the  results  he  had  arrived  at,  which 
he  reprinted  in  1842  by  way  of  an  appendix  to  his  Ger- 
man edition  of  Wellsted's  Travels  in  Arabia.  By  com- 
paring the  characters  of  the  inscriptions  with  the  Him- 
yaritic  alphabets  contained  in  some  Arabic  manuscripts 
and  with  the  present  Ethiopic  alphabet,  he  was  cnn- 
bled  to  ascertain  the  powers  of  the  letters,  and  even  to 
interpret,  with  various  degrees  of  certainty,  many  por- 
tions of  the  inscriptions  themselves.  Thus,  these  venera- 
ble records,  which  in  all  probability  have  for  many  ages 
been  dumb  to  every  human  being,  are  in  a  fair  way  of 
being  made  to  yield  up  to  modern  scientific  research 
whatever  information  they  may  contain.  That  this  in- 
formation must  be  interesting  and  valuable  to  the  historian 
is  inferred  from  the  imposing  nature  of  the  structures  on 
which  they  are  found,  and  whose  existence  but  a  few 
years  ago  was  as  little  looked  for  in  this  part  of  the  world 
as  in  the  forest  wilds  of  Oregon.  A  full  account  of  these 
discoveries  and  of  the  attempts  at  decyphering  the  inscrip- 
tions was  published  in  1845  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Transactions  of  the  Ethnological  Society  of  this  city.  I 
will  therefore  merely  proceed  to  state  what  has  been 
accomplished  in  the  Riatter  since  the  time  when  that  ac- 
count closes. 

In  the  beginning  of  1843,  the  same  year  in  which  M. 
Wrede  made  his  exploration,  a  French  physician  of  the 
name  of  Arnaud  being  then  at  Jiddah,  received  from  M. 
Fresnel,  the  French  consular  agent  at  that  port,  accounts 
of  the  Himyaritic  inscriptions  discovered  by  the  officers  of 
the  Indian  Navy,  and  of  the  interest  they  had  created  in 
Europe.     M.  Arnaud's  enthusiasm  being  excited  on  the 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  81 

subject,  he  resolved  to  take  a  share  in  these  arduous  re- 
searches. •  The  grand  object  of  his  ambition  was  to  reach 
Mareb,  the  ancient  capital  of  Hadraniaut  and  tlie  resi- 
dence of  the  famous  Queen  of  Sheba,  whose  name  accord- 
ing to  the  Arabians  was  Balkis.  Two  English  officers 
had  undertaken  the  journey  several  years  ago,  and  had 
reached  Sana,  a  town  within  three  or  four  days'  journey 
of  it ;  but  the  suspicions  of  the  native  authorities  becoming 
excited,  their  further  progress  was  prevented. 

The  mode  of  proceeding  adopted  by  M.  Arnaud,  who 
spoke  the  Arabic  fluently,  was  to  travel  as  a  Mussulman, 
in  company  with  a  caravan  going  to  the  place.  His  plan 
was  )iappily  crowned  with  success.  In  the  middle  of 
July  he  reached  the  city,  where  he  saw  the  imposing  re- 
mains of  the  ancient  dam,  said  to  have  been  built  across 
the  valley  of  Mareb  by  Balkis  herself,  and  which,  by  cob 
lecting  an  immense  body  of  water  near  the  metropolis, 
whence  the  surrounding  country  was  irrigated,  had  given 
rise  to  the  fertility  and  beauty  for  which  the  region  was 
celebrated  in  ancient  times.  On  these  remains  M.  Ar- 
naud discovered  a  number  of  inscriptions,  as  also  among 
the  ruins  of  the  former  city  ;  among  the  most  remarkable 
of  these  is  one  called  Harem  Balkis,  which  is  thought  to 
be  the  remains  of  the  palace  of  the  ancient  Sabean  kings. 
The  inscriptions  of  which  Mr.  Arnaud  brought  away  copies 
with  him  amount  to  fifty-six  in  number.  The  tour  of  M. 
Wrede  was  also  not  unproductive  in  this  respect.  He 
copied,  among  others,  a  long  inscription  in  Wadi  Doan ; 
which,  according  to  the  interpretations  that  have  since 
been  made  of  it,  contains  a  list  of  kings  more  copious 
than  those  which  have  been  left  us  by  Albulfeda  and 
other  historians  of  the  middle  ages. 

When  M.  Arnaud  returned  to  Jiddah  from  his  hazard- 
ous and  toilsome  expedition,  M.  Fresnel,  who  had  origi- 
nally moved  him  to  the  undertaking,  set  about  studying 
the  new  inscriptions,  aided  by  the  previous  labors  of  the 
German  scholars  and  his  own  knowledge  of  Arabic  and  the 


82  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

modern  Himyaritic.  Possessing  a  far  more  abundant  sup- 
ply of  materials  than  had  been  collected  before,  he  was  able 
to  assign  to  a  few  doubtful  characters  their  proper  values. 
He  transmitted  to  Paris  a  fair  copy  of  the  original  in- 
scriptions, and  also  a  transcription  of  them  in  the  Arabic 
character,  showing  how  they  should  be  read.  A  fount  of 
Himyaritic  types  having  been  constructed  for  the  express 
purpose  at  the  Imprimerie  Royale,  they  were  all  published 
in  the  course  of  last  year  in  the  Journal  Asiatique,  togeth- 
er with  several  letters  on  the  subject  from  M.  Fresnel. 
The  form  of  the  characters  in  these  inscriptions  is  essential- 
ly the  same  as  in  those  discovered  before ;  but,  whereas  the 
former  ones  all  read  from  right  to  left  like  the  Arabic  of  the 
present  day,  some  of  the  new  ones  are  found  to  read  alter- 
nately from  right  to  left  and  from  left  to  right,  like  some  of 
the  inscriptions  of  ancient  Greece.  M.  Fresnel's  attention 
has  been  mainly  directed  to  the  collection  and  identifica- 
tion of  the  proper  names  of  persons,  deities,  and  places,  in 
which  the  inscriptions  abound,  and  in  which  he  recognises 
many  names  mentioned  in  Scripture,  and  in  Greek,  Ro- 
man, and  Arabian  authors.  Thus  he  identifies  the  deity 
'Athtor  with  the  Ashtoreth  or  Venus  of  the  Hebrews.  He 
finds  in  an  inscription  at  Hisn  Ghorab  the  word  Kana, 
showing  the  correctness  of  the  conclusion  already  arrived 
at  that  this  is  the  Cane  emjjormm  of  Ptolemy.  He  identi- 
fies the  ruins  of  Kharibeh,  a  day's  journey  to  the  west  of 
Mareb,  with  the  Caripeta  of  Pliny,  the  furthest  point 
reached  by  the  Roman  commander,  iElius  Gallus,  in  his 
expedition  into  Arabia  Felix,  in  the  reign  of  Augustus 
Caesar.  He  has  also  recognised  many  names  of  Him- 
yaritic sovereigns  mentioned  by  Arabian  writers,  among 
others  those  of  the  grandfather  and  uncle  of  Queen  Balkis. 
M.  Fresnel  has  also  begun  to  translate  the  inscriptions 
connectedly,  a  M^ork  of  great  labor  and  difficulty.  He  has 
already  furnished  an  improved  reading  and  translation  of 
one  at  Sana,  which  had  been  copied  before  by  English 
officers,  and  interpreted  by  Gesenius  and  Rodiger,  and 


THE   PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  83 

has  offered  a  transliition  of  another  found  by  M.  Arnaud, 
on  the  Hiram  Balkis  at  Mareb. 

The  discoveries  akeady  brought  to  hght,  merely  serve 
to  show  the  richness  of  the  mine  that  yet  remains  to  be 
explored.  Other  expeditions  are  now  planning,  or  in 
progress  of  execution,  for  penetrating  into  other  parts  of 
the  country  ;  and  eminent  scholars  are  busied  in  elucida- 
ting the  treasures  which  the  enterprizc  of  travellers  is 
bringing  to  light.  Their  united  exertions  cannot  fail,  at 
least,  to  accumulate  many  curious  particulars  relative  to 
the  history  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  least  known 
nations  of  past  ages. 

The  Rev.  T.  Brockman,  who  was  sent  by  the  Royal  Ge- 
ographical Society  of  England  for  the  purpose  of  geogra- 
phical and  antiquarian  research  in  the  Arabian  peninsula, 
had  proceeded  up  the  coast  from  Aden  to  Shehar,  midway 
between  Aden  and  Muscat,  and  had  coasted  along  to 
Cape  Ras  al-Gat.  Subsequently  in  attempting  to  reach 
Muscat,  he  was  arrested  by  sickness  at  Wadi  Beni  Jabor, 
where  after  a  few  days  he  died.  His  papers,  wliich  will 
be  sent  to  the  Geographical  Society,  are  thought  to  con- 
tain matters  of  interest  respecting  this  region.* 


*  Particulars  read  to  the  meeting  of  iJoyal  Geographical  Society  of  London, 
November  9,  1846. — London  Ath. 

The  following  list  embraces  all  of  consequence  that  has  been  written  on  South- 
ern Arabia  and  the  Himyaritic  Inscriptions. 

Pococke,  Specimina  Historiae  veterum  Arabum.    Oxford,  1649,  reprinted  1806. 

De  Sacy,  sur  divers  Evfenemens  de  I'histoire  des  Arabes  avant  Mahomet,  in 
M^m.  de  Lit.  de  I'Acad.  Fran^aiae,  Vol.  L.     Paris,  1805. 

Historia  Jemanae,  e  cod.  MS.  arabico,  ed.  G.  T.  Johannsen.  Bonn,  1828. 

Travels  in  Arabia,  by  Lieut.  Wellsted,  2  vols.  8vo.     London,  1838. 

Memoir  on  the  south  coast  of  Arabia,  by  Capt.  Harris.  Journal  Royal  Geo- 
graphical Society,  Vol.  VL  IX. 

Narrative  of  a  Journey  from  Mokha  to  Sana:  by  G.  J.  Cruttenden. — Ibid. 
Vol.  VIII. 

Gesenius,  Ueber  die  Himjaritischen  Sprache  und  Schrift,    Halle,  1841. 

Rodiger,  Versuch  iiber  die  Himjaritischen  Schrifimonumente.  Halle,  1841. 
This  was  republished,  with  many  improvements,  in  an  Appendix  to  the  author's 
German  translation  of  Wellstcd's  Travels.     2  vols.     Halle,  1842. 


84 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 


Sclavonic  Mss. — It  is  stated  in  the  Russian  papers 
that  M.  Giigorowitsch,  professor  of  the  Sclavonic  tongues 
in  the  Imperial  University  of  Kasan,  has  returned  to  that 
capital  from  a  two  year's  journey  in  the  interior  of  Tur- 
key, by  order  of  the  Russian  government,  in  search  of  the 
graphic  monuments  of  the  ancient  Sclavonic  nations.  He 
has  brought  home  fac-similes  of  many  hundred  inscrip- 
tions, and  2,138  Sclavonian  manuscripts — 450  of  which 
are  said  to  be  very  ancient,  and  of  great  importance. 

The  Caucasus. — The  results  of  a  scientific  expedition 
for  the  exploration  of  the  Steppes  of  the  Caspian  Sea,  the 
Caucasus,  and  of  Southern  Russia,  under  the  direction  of 
M.  Hommaire  de  Hell,  has  lately  been  published.  This 
portion  of  the  East  has  been  little  noticed  by  travellers,  and 
the  present  work  has  therefore  added  much  to  our  previous 
knowledge  of  the  country.  It  is  accompanied  by  a  large 
map,  on  which  the  geographical  and  geological  peculiari- 
ties are  defined  with  great  minuteness  and  elegance.* 

ASSYRIA  AND  PERSIA. 

The  discoveries  recently  made,  and  the  researches 
now  in  progress  in  those  regions  of  the  world  known  in 
ancient  times  as  Assyria,  Babylonia  and  Persia,  are 
among  the  most  interesting  and  important  of  the  age.  Of 
the  ancient  Assyrians  and  Babylonians  we  know  nothing, 
but  what  we  find  in  the  Bible,  or  what  has  been  preserved 

Ewald,  on  an  inscription  recently  dug  up  in  Aden,  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Kunde 
des  Morgenlandes,  1843. 

The  Historical  Geography  of  Arabia,  or  the  Patriarchal  Evidences  of  Revealed 
Religion.     By  the  Rev.  Charles  Forster,  2  vols.  8vo.     London,  1844. 

F.  Fresnel.  Letters  to  M.  Jules  MohI,on  the  Himyariiic  Inscriptions.  Paris, 
1845. 

Account  of  an  excursion  to  Hadramaut,  'by  Adolph  Baron  Wrede.  Journal 
Royal  Geographical  Society,  Vol.  XIV. 

Memoir  of  the  south  and  east  coast  of  Arabia,  by  Capt.  S.  B.  Harris. — Ibid. 
Vol.  XV. 

*  Les  Steppes  de  la  mer  Caspienne,  le  Caucase,  la  Crimee  et  la  Russe  merio- 
dinale  ;  voyage  Pittoresque,  Historique  et  Scientifique  ;  par  X.  Hommaire  de  Hell. 
3  vols,  royal  8vo.  and  folio  atlas  of  Plates.     Paris,  1845. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY  85 

and  handed  down  to  us  by  the  Greek  historians;  Unhke 
Egypt,  who  has  left  so  many  records  of  her  greatness,  (A' 
her  knowledge  of  the  arts,  and  of  her  advancement  in 
civilization,  in  the  numerous  and  wonderful  monumental 
remains  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  the  Assyrians  were 
supposed  to  have  left  nothings  no  existing  monuments  as 
evidences  that  they  ever  had  an  existence,  save  in  the 
vast  and  misshapen  heaps  along  the  banks  of  the  Euphra- 
tes and  Tigris,  believed  to  wash  the  spots  where  the 
great  cities  of  Nineveh  and  Babylon  once  stood.  The 
site  of  Nineveh  still  remains  doubtful ;  and  so  literally 
have  the  prophecies  in  regard  to  Babylon  been  fulfilled, 
that  nothing  but  vast  heaps  of  rubbish,  of  tumuli,  and 
traces  of  numerous  canals,  remains.  The  lanc^uasre  of  the 
Assyrians  is  unknown,  and  the  impressions  of  characters 
in  the  form  of  a  wedge  or  arrow-head  stamped  upon  the 
bricks  and  other  relics  dug  from  these  heaps,  have  been 
looked  upon  as  mysterious  and  cabalistic  signs,  rather  than 
the  representatives  of  sounds,  or  belonging  to  a  regular 
form  of  speech.  For  more  than  twenty  centuries,  these 
countries  have  been  as  a  blank  on  the  page  of  history; 
and  all  we  have  gathered  from  thcmconsi^s  in  the  obser- 
vations of  curious  travellers,  who,  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  have  ventured  to  extend  their  wanderings  this  way. 
Pietro  della  Valle,  Le  Brun,  Niebuhr  Ker  Porter, 
Rich,  and  Ouseley,  have  given  us  descriptions  of  the  an- 
cient remains  in  Persia  and  Assyria,  particularly  those  at 
Persepolis,  Pasargadae,  and  Babylon.  These  consist  of 
views  of  the  monuments  and  sculptures,  together  with 
copies  of  the  inscriptions  in  the  cuneiform,  or  arrow-head 
character.  The  object  of  the  edifices,  the  subject  of  the 
sculptures,  and  the  meaning  of  the  inscriptions,  were 
wholly  matters  of  conjecture  ;  and  it  seemed  a  hopeless 
task  to  arrive  at  any  conclusions  in  relation  to  them,  until 
some  key  should  be  discovered,  by  the  means  of  which 
the  language  should  be  made  known,  and  the  numerous 
inscriptions  decyphered.     No  bilingual  tablet,  such  as  the 


86  THE    PROGRESS    OF   ETHNOLOuy. 

Rosctta  stone  of  Egypt,  had  been  discovered ;  and,  al- 
though it  appeared  that  many  of  the  inscriptions  were 
recorded  in  three  different  languages,  no  means  seemed  to 
exist  by  which  philologists  could  obtain  a  clue  to  their 
meaning.  With  this  dark  prospect  in  view,  the  task  of 
decyphering  the  arrow-headed  characters  was  attempted 
by  M.  Grotefend,  one  of  the  most  sagacious  ,and  distin- 
guished philologists  of  Europe.  The  particulars  of  the 
attempt  and  its  results,  we  shall  briefly  state. 

At  Persepolis  it  is  known  are  extensive  ruins,  chiefly 
belonging  to  a  large  edifice,  with  every  indication  that 
this  edifice  was  originally  a  royal  palace.  History  and 
tradition  supported  this  belief;  and  the  general  character 
of  the  sculptures  and  architecture,  together  with  the  in- 
scriptions, would  carry  its  origin  back  to  a  period  some 
centuries  before  the  Christian  era.  It  was  doubtless  the 
work  of  one  of  the  great  monarchs  of  Persia ;  of  Cyrus, 
Cambyses,  Xerxes,  Darius,  or  some  other  with  whom 
history  is  famihar.*  On  some  of  the  monuments  at  Per- 
sepolis, are  inscriptions  in  the  Pehlvi  character,  parts  of 
which  have  been  decyphered  by  M.  de  Sacy.  In  one  of 
these,  the  title"!  and  name  of  a  king  are  often  repeated  ; 
these  titles  M.  Grotefend  thought  might  be  repeated  in  the 
same  manner  in  the  arrow-head  characters.! 

Over  the  doorways  and  in  other  parts  of  this  edifice, 
are  portraits,  evidently  of  kings,  as  there  is  always  enough 
in  the  dress  and  insignia  of  a  monarch  to  enable  one  to 
detect  him  on  any  ancient  monument.     Over  these  por- 

*  I  feel  warranted  in  going  back  and  tracing  the  progress  of  these  discoveriea, 
as  so  little  is  known  of  it  by  English  readers.  The  translation  of  Grotefend's 
essay  in  Heeren's  Researches,  was  the  only  accessible  original  treatise  on  the 
subject,  until  the  recent  publications  of  Major  Rawlinson  and  Prof  Westergaard. 
In  Germany,  much  has  been  written  and  some  in  France.  These  papers  are 
chiefly  in  antiquarian  or  philological  Transactions  and  are  scarcely  known  here. 
A  full  account  of  the  discovery  in  question,  of  its  progress  and  present  state,  seems 
therefore  necessary. 

t  Grotefend's  Essay  on  the  cuneiform  inscriptions,  in  Heeren's  Asiatic  Nations. 
Vol.  II  p.  334, 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  87 

traits  are  inscriptions  ;  these  it  was  natural  to  suppose 
related  to  the  person  represented,  and  if  so,  contained  the 
name  of  the  king  and  his  titles.  Such  would  be  the  con- 
clusion of  any  one  who  reflected  on  the  subject,  and  such 
was  the  belief  of  M.  Grotefend  and  other  philologists. 
In  these  inscriptions  one  group  of  characters  was  repeated 
more  frequently  than  any  other,  and  all  agreed  that  the 
decyphering  of  this  group  would  furnish  a  key  to  the 
whole.  On  this  group  of  characters  then  our  Savans  set 
to  work. 

According  to  the  analogy  of  the  Pchlvi  inscriptions,  de- 
cyphered  by  De  Sacy,  it  was  believed  that  the  inscriptions 
then  under  consideration,  mentioned  the  name  of  a  king 
son  of  another  king,  that  is  the  names  of  father  and  son. 
M.  Grotefend  first  examined  the  bas-reliefs  at  Persepolis, 
to  ascertain  the  particular  age  of  the  Persian  kings  to 
which  they  belonged,  in  order  that  he  might  discover  the 
names  applicable  to  the  inscription.  A  reference^  to  the 
Greek  historians  convinced  him  that  he  must  look  for  the 
kings  of  the  dynasty  of  the  Achaemenides,  and  he  accord- 
ingly applied  their  names  to  the  characters  of  the  inscrip- 
tions. "  These  names  could  obviously  not  be  C3^rus  and 
Cambyses,  because  the  names  occurring  in  the  inscriptions 
do  not  begin  with  the  same  letter ;  Cyrus  and  Artaxerxes 
were  equally  inapplicable,  the  first  being  too  short  and  the 
latter  too  long ;  there  only  remained  therefore  the  names 
of  Darius  and  Xerxes  ;"  and  these  latter  agreed  so  exactly 
with  the  characters,  that  Mr.  Grotefend  did  not  hesitate 
to  select  them.  The  next  step  was  to  ascertain  what 
these  names  were  in  the  old  Persian  language,  as  they 
come  to  us  through  the  Greek,  and  would  of  course  differ 
somewhat  from  the  original.  The  ancient  Zend,  as  pre- 
served in  the  Zendavesta,  furnished  the  only  medium 
through  which  the  desired  information  could  be  obtained.* 

*  The  Zendavesta  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  as  well  as  remarkable  books  that 
has  come  down  to  us  from  the  East.      It  was  first  made  known  in  Europe   in 


88 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 


He  next  ascertained  that  Xerxes  was  called  Kshershe  or 
Ksharsha ;  and  Darius,  Dareush.     A  farther  examination 


the  year  1762,  by  Anquetil  du  Perron,  who  brought  it  from  Sural  in  India, 
whither  he  went  expressly  to  search  for  the  ancient  books  of  tlie  East.  He  spent 
many  years  (seventeen  it  is  said)  in  making  a  translation,  which  he  accompanied 
with  valuable  notes,  illustrative  of  the  doctrines  of  Zoroaster,  and  in  elucidation 
of  the  Zend  language,  in  which  this  book  was  written.  A  great  sensation  was 
produced  in  Europe  among  the  learned  at  the  appearance  of  the  work.  Exam- 
ined as  a  monument  of  the  ancient  religion  and  literature  of  the  Persians,,  it  was 
differently  appreciated  by  them.  Sir  William  Jones*  and  others,  not  only 
questioned  its  authenticity,  but  denounced  the  translator  in  very  harsh  terms. 
But  later  writers,  among  these  some  of  the  most  distinguished  philologists  of 
Europe,  are  willing  to  let  it  rank  among  the  earliest  books  of  the  East,  and  as 
entitled  to  an  antiquity  at  least  six  centuries  anterior  to  the  Christian  era. 

The  Zendavesta  (from  zend  living,  and  avesta  word,  i.  e.  "  the  living,  word") 
consists  of  a  series  of  liturgic  services  for  various  occasions,  and  bears  the  same 
reference  to  the  books  of  Zoroaster  that  our  breviaries  and  common-prayer  books 
do  to  the  Bible.  It  embraces  five  books.  1.  The  Izechne,  "elevation  of  the 
soul,  praise,  devotion  ;"  2.  the  Fispererf,  "  the  chiefs  of  the  beings  there  named;'' 
3.  the  Vendidad,  which  is  considered  as  the  foundation  of  the  law  ;  4.  the 
Yeshts  ^des,  or  "  a  collection  of  compositions  and  of  fragments;"  5.  the  book 
Siroz,  "  thirty  days,"  containing  praises  addressed  to  the  Genius  of  each  day  ; 
and  which  is  a  sort  of  liturgical  calendar.! 

The  doctrines  inculcated  in  the  Zendavesta  are  "  the  existence  of  a  great  first 
principle.  Time  without  beginning  and  without  end.  This  incomprehensible 
being  is  the  author  of  the  two  great  active  powers  of  the  universe- — Ormuzd  the 
principle  of  all  good,  and  Ahriman  the  principle  of  all  evil.  Ormuzd  is  the  first 
creative  agent  produced  by  the  Self-Existent.  He  is  perfectly  pure,  intelligent, 
just,  powerful,  active,  benevolent, — in  a  v/ord,  the  precise  image  of  the  Element ; 
the  centre  and  author  of  the  perfections  of  all  nature."  Ahriman  is  the  opposite 
of  this.  He  is  occupied  in  perverting  and  corrupting  every  thing  good;  he  is 
the  source  of  misery  and  evil.  "  Ordained  to  create  and  govern  the  universe, 
Ormuzd,  received  the  Word,  which  in  his  mouth  became  an  instrument  of  in- 
finite power  and  fruitfulness."t 

"  The  first  created  man  was  composed  of  the  four  elements, — ^fire,  air,  water, 
and  earth.  "  Ormuzd  to  this  perishable  frame  added  an  immortal  spirit,  and  the 
being  was  complete."  The  soul  of  man  consists  of  separate  parts,  each  having 
peculiar  offices.  "1.  The  principle  of  sensation.  2.  The  principle  of  intelligence. 
3.  The  principle  of  practical  judgment.  4.  The  principle  of  conscience. 
5.  The  principle  of  animal  life."  After  death,  "  the  principle  of  animal  life 
mingles  with  the  winds,"  the  body  being  regarded  as  a  mere  instrument  in  the 


*  Sir  William  Jones's  Works.     Vol.  X.  p.  403. 

t  See  note  to  the  "  Dabisfan."    Pub.  for  the  Oriental  Translations  Fund.    Vol.  I.  p.  225. 

J  Frazer's  History  of  Persia,    p.  150-157. 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY.  89 

gave  him  the  name  of  Kslic  or  Ksltcio  for  '  king.'*  The 
places  or  groups  of  characters  corresponding  with  these 
names,  were  then  analyzed  and  the  value  of  each  character 
ascertained.  These  were  then  applied  to  other  portions 
of  the  inscriptions,  and  led  to  the  translation  of  two  short 
ones,  as  well  as  to  the  formation  of  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  alphabet. 

Such  was  the  result  of  Professor  Grotefend's  labors  up 
to  the  3'^ear  1833.  His  first  discovery  was  made  and  an- 
nounced as  early  as  1802,  but  an  account  of  his  system 
of  interpretation  did  not  appear  until  1815,  in  the  appen- 
dix to  the  third  German  edition  of  Heeren's  Researches. 
This  was  afterwards  enlarged  in  the  translation  of  Heeren 
published  at  Oxford  in  1833,  when  it  was  first  made 
known  to  English  readers.  In  1837  he  pubhshed  a  treatise 
containing  an  account  of  all  the  Persepolitan  inscriptions 
in  his  possession,  and  another  in  1840  on  those  of  Babylon. 

The  brilliant  success  which  attended  Grotefcnd*s  earlier 
efforts,  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  otlier  philologists  to 
the  subject.  M.  Saint  Martin  read  a  memoir  before  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Paris  in  1822,  but  did  not  make  any 
additions  to  our  previous  knowledge.  Professor  Rask 
next  took  it  up,    and  discovered  the  value  of  two   addi- 


power  of  the  will.  The  first  three  are  accountable  for  the  deeds  of  the  body,  and 
are  examined  at  the  day  of  judgnient.  "  This  law  or  religion  is  still  professed  by 
the  descendants  of  the  Persians,  who,  conquered  by  the  IVIohaminedans,  have  not 
submitted  to  the  Koran  ;  they  partly  inhabit  Kirman  and  partly  the  western  coast 
of  India,  to  the  north  and  south  of  Surat."*  The  traces  which  are  apparent  in  the 
Zendavesta  of  Hindoo  superstitions,  indicate  that  its  author  borrowed  from  the 
sacred  books  of  India,  while  its  sublime  doctrines  evidently  point  ta  the 
Pentateuch. 

Mr.  Eugene  Burnouf  is  now  publishing  at  Paris  a  new  translation  of  the  Zend- 
avesta from  a  Sanscrit  version  under  the  title  of  "  Commentaire  sur  le  Ya^na," 
in  which  he  has  embodied  a  vast  deal  of  oriental  learning,  illustrative  of  the 
geography,  history,  religion  and  language  of  ancient  Persia.  The  first  volume 
was  published  in  1833. 

*The  modern  title  of  the  sovereign  of  Peijia,  Shah,  is  at  once  recognised  in 
the  ancient  name  Kshe  or  Ksha  of  the  monuments. 

*  Note  to  the  "  Dabistan."    Vol.  I.  p.  222.  by  its  edltoi,  A.  Troyer. 

8* 


90  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

tional  charactei's.  M.  Burnouf  followed  in  1836,  with  an 
elaborate  memoir,  in  which  he  disclosed  some  important 
discoveries.*  Professor  Lassen,  in  his  Memoir  published 
in  1836,  and  in  a  series  of  papers  continued  up  to  the 
present  day,t  has  identified  at  least  twelve  characters, 
which  had  been  mistaken  by  all  his  predecessors,  and 
which,  "  says  Maj.  Rawlinson,"  may  entitle  him  almost 
to  contest  with  Professor  Grotefend  the  palm  of  alpha- 
betical discovery." 

In  1835,  Major  Rawlinson,  then  residing  in  Persia, 
turned  his  attention  to  the  subject,  and  decyphered  some 
of  the  proper  names  on  the  tablets  at  Hamadan.  In  the 
following  year  he  applied  himself  to  the  great  inscription 
at  Behistun,  the  largest  and  most  remarkable  that  is 
known  in  Persia,  and  succeeded  in  making  out  several 
lines  of  its  contents. 

The  result  of  Major  Rawlinson' s  first  attempt  at  decy- 
phering  the  Behistun  inscription,  was  the  identification  of 
several  proper  names,  and  consequently  the  values  of  ad- 
ditional characters  towards  the  completion  of  the  alpha- 
bet.f  But  more  was  wanted  than  the  alphabet,  which 
only  enabled  the  student  to  make  out  proper  names,  but 
not  to  advance  beyond  ;  and  it  was  the  lack  of  this 
knowledge  which  prevented  the  sagacious  and  indefati- 
gable Grotefend  from  carrying  out  to  any  great  extent, 
the  discoveries  which  he  had  so  well  begun. 

*  Meinoire  sur  deux  Inscriptions  cuneiforms,  trouvees  pres  d'Hamadan.  Paris, 
1836. 

t  Die  Alt-Persisclien  Keil-Inschriften  von  Persepolis.  Bonn,  1836.  The 
other  papers  of  Prof  Lassen  may  be  found  in  the  "  Zeitschrift  fur  die  Kunde 
des  Morgenlandes,"  a  periodical  work  published  at  Bonn,  exclusively  de- 
voted to  Oriental  subjects.  It  is  the  most  learned  work  on  Oriental  Philology 
and  Archaeology  published  in  Europe. 

t  While  Major  Rawlinson  was  pccupied  in  Persia,  the  subject  was  attracting 
much  attention  among  the  Orientalists  of  Europe.  Burnouf  and  Lassen,  as  we 
have  seen,  then  published  the  results  of  their  investigations,  which  wen-  after- 
wards found  to  be  almost  identical  with  those  of  Major  R.  Neither  of  these 
scholars  was  aware  at  the  time  of  the  othgrs'  labors.  This  is  an  interesting  f'-^t, 
and  establishes  the  correctness  of  the  conclusions  at  which  they  eventually 
arrived. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETFINOLOGY.  91 

The  language  of  the  inscriptions  must  next  be  studied  ; 
and  as  the  Zend  liad  been  the  medium  throu£;h  whicli  the 
first  links  in  tlie  chain  of  interpretation  had  been  obtained, 
it  was  naturally  resorted  to  for  aid  to  farther  progress. 
The  Zendavesta,  with  the  researches  of  Anquctil  du  Per- 
ron, and  the  commentary  at  the  Ya^na  by  ]M.  Burnouf, 
wherein  the  language  of  the  Zendavesta  is  critically  ana- 
lyzed, and  its  grammatical  structure  developed,  furnished 
the  necessary  materials.  To  the  latter  work,  and  the 
luminous  critique  of  M.  Burnouf,  Major  Rawlinson  owes 
the  success  of  his  translations  ;  as  he  acknowledges  that 
by  it  he  "  obtained  a  genc^ral  knowledge  of  the  grammat- 
ical structure  of  the  language  of  the  inscriptions." 

But  the  Zend  was  not  of  itself  sufficient  to  make  out 
all  the  words  and  expressions  in  the  Behistun  and  other 
inscriptions.  Other  languages  contemporary  with  that  of 
the  inscription  and  of  the  Zend  must  be  sought  for,  to  elu- 
cidate many  points  which  it  left  obscure.*  The  Sanscrit 
was  the  only  one  laying  claim  to  a  great  antiquity,  whose 
grammatical  structure  was  sufficiently  developed  to  ren- 
der it  useful  in  this  enquiry.  A  knowledge  of  this  lan- 
guage had  previously  been  acquired  by  Major  Rawlinson, 
and  he  was  therefore  fully  prepared  for  the  arduous  task 
he  had  undertaken.  Neither  of  these,  it  must  be  observed, 
was  the  language  of  the  inscriptions,  which  it  is  believed 
had  ceased  to  be  a  living  form  of  speech,  at  the  period 
when  the  Sanscrit  and  Zend  were  in  current  use. 


*  The  Zend  language  is  known  to  us  chiefly  by  the  "  Zendavesta."  Of  its  an- 
tiquity there  is  doubt.  Some  philologists  believe  tliat  it  grew  up  with  the  decline 
of  the  old  Persian,  or  was  formed  on  its  basis,  with  an  infusion  from  the  Sanscrit, 
Median,  and  Scythic  languages.  It  was  used  in  the  time  of  Darms  Hystaspes, 
B.  C.  550,  at  which  period  Zoroaster  lived,  who  employed  the  Zend  in  the  com- 
position of  the  "  Zendavesta."  Its  anticjuity  has  formed  the  subject  of  many  me- 
moirs ;  but  late  writers,  among  whojn  are  Rask,  Eugene  Burnouf,  Bopp,  and 
Lassen,  have  decided  from  the  most  severe  tests  of  criticism,  that  the  Zend  was 
an  ancient  language  derived  from  the  same  source  as  the  Sanscrit,  and  that  it  was 
spoken  before  the  Christian  era,  particula,rly  in  the  countries  situated  west  of  the 
Caspian    Sea,   in   Georgia,  Iran  proper,  and    northern  Media.     Note  to  the 


92  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  note  in  detail  the  difficulties  and 
great  labor  attending  the  decyphering  of  the  Behistun 
tablets,  on  which  Major  Rawlinson  was  occupied  from 
time  to  time  during  a  space  often  years.  His  discoveries 
were  announced  in  London,  in  a  memoir  read  before  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society  in  1839,  but  were  not  published  in 
extenso  until  1846. 

Briefly  to  sum  up  the  results  of  his  labors,  it  will  suffice 
to  state  that  they  present  "  a  correct  grammatical  trans- 
lation of  nearly  four  hundred  lines  of  cuneiform  writing, 
a  memorial  of  the  time  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  the  greater 
part  of  which  is  in  so  perfect  a  state  as  to  afford  ample 
and  certain  grounds  for  a  minute  orthographical  and  ety- 
mological analysis,  and  the  purport  of  which  to  the  histo- 
rian, must  be  of  fully  equal  interest  with  the  peculiarities 
of  the  language  to  the  philologist."  In  a  few  cases  it  may 
be  found  necessary  to  alter  or  modify  some  of  the  signifi- 
cations assigned  ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  general 
meaning  of  every  paragraph  is  accurately  determined, 
a-nd  that  the  learned  Orientalist  has  thus  been  enabled 
"  to  exhibit  a  correct  historical  outline,  possessing  the 
weight  of  royal  and   contemporaneous  recital,  of  many 


Dabistan,  Vol.  I.  p.  222.  The  only  specimen  of  this  language  yet  known,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  MSS.  of  little  importance  among  the  Parsees,  is  the  Zend- 
avesta.  Major  Rawlinson*  adopts  views  at  variance  with  those  of  the  distin- 
guished German  philologists,  in  regard  to  the  antiquity  of  the  Zend  language. 
Its  "  very  elaborate  vocalic  organization,"  he  thinks,  "  indicates  a  comparatively 
recent  era  for  the  formation  of  its  alphabet  ;"  and  of  the  Zend-Avesta,  he  is  of 
opinion  that"  the  disfigurement  of  authentic  history  affords  an  argument  of  equal 
wei<rht  against  the  antiquity  of  its  composition."  He  fully  agrees,  however,  with 
all  others  as  to  the  very  remote  composition  of  the  books  generally  ascribed  to  Zo- 
roaster. In  fact  this  is  beyond  all  question,  for  Plato  mentions  them  (Pol.  B. 
XXX.)  Clemens  of  Alexandria  says  they  were  known  in  the  5th  century  B.  C. 
and  many  other  ancient  writers  could  be  cited  in  i,roof  of  the  same.t 

*  See  Rawlinson.    Memoir  on  Cuneiform  Inscriptions.    Note  to  page  42. 
t  See  a  note  to  the  "  Dabistan,"  Vol.  I.  p.  in  which  is  given  a  list  of  all  the  ancient  wri- 
ters who  mention  Zoroaster  and  his  works. 


TFIE    PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY. 


93 


great  events  which  preceded  the  rise  and  marked  the 
career  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  early  sove- 
re'ignt'i  of  Persia." 

Such  is  the  history  of  this  great  discovery,  which  has 
placed  the  nnme  of  Major  Rawlinson  among  the  most 
distinguished  Oriental  scholars  of  the  age.  He  will  rank 
among  the  laborers  in  cuneiform  writing,  where  Cham- 
poUion  does  nmong  the  decyphcrers  of  Egyptian  hiero- 
glyphics ;  for  though,  like  ChampoUion,  he  did  not  make 
the  first  discoveries  in  his  branch  of  Pala30graphy,  he  is 
certainly  entitled  to  the  honor  of  reducing  it  to  a  system, 
by  ascertaining  the  true  powers  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
alphabet,  and  by  elucidating  its  grammatical  peculiari- 
ties, so  that  future  investigators  will  find  little  difficulty 
in  translating  any  inscription  in  the  particular  class  of 
characters  in  question. 

The  cuneiform  (wedge-shaped)  or  arrow-headed  cha- 
racter is  a  system  of  writing  peculiar  to  the  countries 
between  the  Euphrates  and  the  Persian  frontier  on  the 
East.  Various  combinations  of  a  figure  shaped  like  a 
wedge,  together  with  one  produced  by  the  union  of  two 
wedges,  constitute  the  system  of  writing  employed  by  the 
ancient  Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Modes,  and  the  Archaj- 
menian  kings  of  Persia.  The  character  seems  to  have 
been  as  extensively  employed  in  this  portion  of  the  world, 
as  the  Roman  letters  now  are  in  Europe.  Particular 
arrangements  or  combinations  of  these  characters  appa- 
rently belonged  to  different  nations,  peaking  different 
languages.  When  and  where  this  system  of  writing 
originated  is  not  known.  Professor  Westergaard*  thihks 
that  "  Babylon  was  its  cradle,  whence  it  spread  in  two 
branches,  eastward  to  Susiana,  and  northward  to  the  As- 
syrian empire,  from  whence  it  passed   into  Media,  and 


*"0n  the  Decy|)hering  of  the  Median  species  of  Arrow-headed  Wrilin^;,  by 
N.  L.  Westeraaard,  in  ihe  M^moires  de  lu  Socidtd  Royaie  des  Antiquaires  du 
Nord.     Copenhagen,  1844. 


94  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

lastly  into  ancient  Persia,  where  it  was  much  improved 
and  brought  to  its  greatest  perfection." 

Major  Rawlinson  makes  of  the  arrow-headed  writing 
three  great  classes  or  divisions,  the  Babylonian,  Median 
and  Persia?!.  The  first  of  these  he  thinks  is  unquestiona- 
bly the  oldest.  "  It  is  found  upon  the  bricks  excavated 
from  the  foundations  of  all  the  buildings  in  Mesopotamia, 
Babylonia,  and  Chaldea,  that  possess  the  highest  and 
most  authentic  claims  to  antiquity;"  and  he  thinks  it  "  not 
extravagant  therefore  to  assign  its  invention  to  the  primi- 
tive race  which  settled  in  the  plain  of  Shinar."*  In  the 
recent  excavations  made  by  M.  Botta  and  Mr.  Layard, 
on  or  near  the  site  of  ancient  Nineveh,  numerous  in- 
scriptions in  this  form  of  the  arrow-head  character  were 
found.  It  also  occurs  in  detached  inscriptions  from  the 
Mediterranean  to  the  Persian  mountains. 

A  comparison  of  the  various  inscriptions  in  the  Babylo- 
nian class  of  writing  has  led  Major  Rawlinson  to  believe 
that  it  embraces  five  distinct  varieties,  which  he  calls  the 
Primitive  Babylonian,  the  Achaemenian  Babylonian,  the 
Medo-Assyrian,  the  Assyrian,  and  theElymaean.t  The  pe- 
culiarities of  these  several  varieties,  with  the  countries  in 
which  they  are  found,  are  pointed  out  in  the  second  chap- 
ter of  our  author's  learned  Memoir  on  cuneiform  writing. 
The  Median  and  Persian  classes  are  peculiar  to  the  trilin- 
gual tablets  of  Persia,  and  are  better  known  than  the  first 
class  or  Babylonian. 

Mr.  Westerga£»d|  divides  the  cuneiform  writing  into 
five  classes:  the  Assyrian;  the  Old  Babylonia^i;  and  the 
three  kinds  on  the  trilingual  tablets  of  Persia,  which  em- 
brace the  Median  and  Persian  varieties,  and  the  one 
called  by  Rawlinson  the  Achcemeiiian  Babylonian. 

The  history  we  have  already  given  of  the  progress  made 


*  Memoir  on  the  Cuneiform  Inscriptions,  p.  20.  t  Ibid.  p.  28. 

t  On  the  Median   variety  of  Arrow-headed  Writing.  Memoires  de  la  Soci^t^ 
dfs  Aiiuquaires  du  Nord,  for  1844.  p.  272. 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY.  05 

in  decyphering  these  characters  applies  exclusively  to  one 
of  the  varieties  on  the  tablets  of  Persia.  The  inscrip- 
tions on  these  monuments  arc  almost  invariably  repeated 
in  three  sets  of  characters,  and  doubtless  in  three  different 
languages.  The  characters  of  what  appears  in  each  case 
to  be  the  primary  or  original  inscription,  of  which  the 
others  are  translations,  are  of  the  simplest  construction, 
and  consequently  were  the  first  to  attract  the  attention  of 
decypherers,  and  to  yield  to  their  efforts.  The  language 
in  which  they  are  written  has  been  found  to  exhibit  close 
affinities  both  to  the  Sanscrit  and  to  the  Zend,  and  is  now 
termed  by  philologists  the  Old  Persian.  The  system  of 
writing  is  alphabetic,  that  is  to  say,  each  character  repre- 
sents a  single  articulate  sound;  whereas  that  of  the  other 
two  species  is'at  least  in  a  great  measure  syllabic,  which 
renders  the  taskof  decyphering  them  much  more  difficult. 
For  our  knowledge  of  the  second  variety  of  characters 
on  the  Persian  trilingual  tablets,  we  are  indebted  to  the 
labors  and  sagacity  of  Professor  Westergaard.*  These 
characters  had  remained  entirely  undecyphered  until  the 
first  kind  had  been  completely  made  out.  It  was  evident 
that  the  inscriptions  in  the  second  kind  of  character  were 
but  a  translation  of  those  in  the  first  ;  and  with 
this  supposition,  this  learned  orientalist  began  the  task 
of  decyphering,  by  identifying  the  proper  names  Darius, 
Hystaspes,  Cyrus,  Xei-xes,  Persians,  lonians,  &c.,  which 
frequently  occur  in  the  inscriptions  decyphered  by 
Major  Rawlinson.  Having  obtained  these,  he  next  ana- 
lyzed each  and  ascertained  the  phonetic  values  of  the 
several  characters    of  which   they  are  composed.       By 


*  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Kunde  des  Morgenlandes.  1844-45.  Prof.  Westergaard 
has  also  published  his  paper  in  English,  in  the  M^inoires  de  la  Soci6l6  Royale 
des  Antiquaires  du  Nord,  Copenhagen,  1844,  prefixing  to  it  Lassen's  alphabet  of 
the  first  sort  of  Persepolitan  writing.  He  was  probably  induced  to  do  this  by  ob- 
serving the  limited  extent  to  which  the  German  language  is  cultivated  by  English 
scholars,  insomuch  that  even  Rawlinson  complains  that  he  was  unable  to  read 
any  more  of  Lassen's  papers  than  his  translations  of  the  inscriptions,  which  arc  in 
Latin. 


96  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

this  means,  he  was  enabled  to  construct  an  alphabet.  He 
next  examined  the  introductory  words  and  the  titles  of 
the  sovereigns,  and  finally  the  entire  inscriptions,  all  of 
which  he  has  most  satisfactorily  made  out,  and  with  them 
has  reconstructed  the  language  in  which  they  are  written. 
In  his  learned  and  elaborate  article  detailing  the  process 
of  this  discovery,  Professor  Westergaard  gives  a  syste- 
matic 'classification  of  the  characters,  one  hundred  in 
number,  of  which  seventy- four  are  syllabic,  twenty-four 
alphabetic,  and  two  signs  of  division  between  words.  The 
character  of  the  language,  which  for  convenience  sake  he 
terms  Median,  he  does  not  pretend  to  decide,  though  he 
considers  that  it  belongs  to  the  Scythian  rather  than  to  the 
Japhetic  class  of  languages ;  in  which  opinion  Major 
Rawlinson  coincides.  The  Oriental  Journal  alluded  to  in 
the  second  note  to  p.  90,  contains  several  learned  papers 
by  Professors  Westergaard  and  Lassen,  on  the  arrow- 
headed  inscriptions. 

In  the  third  sort  of  Persipolitan  characters,  termed  the 
Achaemenian  Babylonian,  some  advances  have  been 
made  by  Major  Rawlinson.  The  contents  of  the  other 
portions  of  these  tablets  being  known,  he  pursued  the 
course  adopted  by  Professor  Westergaard,  namely  that 
of  identifying  the  groups  of  characters  corresponding  with 
the  proper  names  in  the  other  inscriptions.  He  has  thus 
been  enabled  to  ascertain  the  phonetic  values  of  a 
large  number  of  characters  which  must  in  time  lead 
to  a  knowledge  of  the  rest  of  the  alphabet.  A  begin- 
ning in  this  direction  was  also  made  b  Professor 
Grotefend,  who  in  his  Memoirs  of  1S37  and  1840,  singles 
out  and  places  in  juxtaposition  the  names  of  Cyrus,  Hys- 
taspes,  Darius  and  Xerxes,  in  the  first  and  third  species 
of  Persepolitan  writing.  There  is  every  reason  to  hope 
that  the  labors  of  the  three  accomplished  Oriental  scholars, 
Rawlinson,  Lassen,  and  Westergaard,  which  have  been 
so  far  crowned  with  success,  will  add  to  their  fame  by 
making  out  the  characters  and  language  of  this  species  of 


1 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  97 

writing  also.  A  high  degree  of  interest  is  attached  to  it, 
not  only  on  account  of  the  information  it  embodies,  but 
in  regard  to  the  nation  to  which  it  is  assignable. 

It  will  be  recollected,  that  besides  these  three  sorts  of 
Persepolitan  writing,  there  are  two  other  distinct  classes 
of  arrow-head  characters,  called  Babylonian  and  Assyrian. 
Little  or  nothing  has  yet  been  accomplished  towards  de- 
cyphering  them ;  which  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  they  are 
of  a  veiy  complicated  nature,  and  that  they  have  hitherto 
bo/sn  found  alone,  that  is  to  say  not  accompanied  by  a 
version  in  any  other  language  or  character.  A  Parisian 
savant,  M.  J.  Lowenstern,  who  has  applied  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  Assyrian  tablets,  published  in  1845  an  Essay 
on  the  monument  recently  discovered  by  M.  Botta  at 
Khorsabad  near  Mosul,  in  which  he  thinks  he  has  made 
out  the  groups  which  stand  for  the  words  great  king,  and 
also  several  alphabetical  characters.  Further  investi- 
gations can  alone  determine  whether  or  not  his  conclusions 
are  correct. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  state  some  of  the  historical  facts 
brought  to  hght  by  the  labors  of  Major  Rawlinson,  to 
which  we  have  alluded.  The  great  tablet  at  Behistun 
relates  exclusively  to  Darius.  "  To  this  monarch,"  says 
Major  Rawlinson,  "  insatiable  in  his  thirst  of  conquest, 
magnificent  in  his  tastes,  and  possessed  of  an  unlimited 
power,  we  are  indebted  for  all  that  is  most  valuable  in  the 
palaeography  of  Persia.  Imbued,  as  it  appears,  with  an 
ardent  passion  for  monumental  fame,  he  was  not  content 
to  inscribe  the  palaces  of  his  foundation  at  Persepolis  with 
a  legend  commemorative  of  their  erection,  or  with  prayers 
invoking  the  guardianship  of  Ormuzd  and  his  angels,  but 
he  lavished  an  elaborate  workmanship  on  historic  and 
geographic  records  in  various  quarters  of  his  empire, 
which  evince  considerable  political  forethought,  an  earnest 
regard  for  truth,  and  an  anibition  to  transmit  the  glories 
of  his  reign  to  future  generations,  to  guide  their  conduct 
and  invite  their  emulation.  At  Persepolis,  the  high  place 
9 


98  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

of  Persian  power,  he  aspired  to  elevate  the  moral  feelings 
of  his  countrymen,  and  to  secure  their  future  dominancy 
in  Asia,  by  displaying  to  them  their  superiority  over  the 
feudatory  provinces  of  the  empire,*  v^^hile  upon  the  sacred 
rock  of  Baghistan,  he  addressed  himself  in  the  style  of  an 
historian,  to  collect  the  genealogical  traditions  of  his  race, 
to  describe  the  extent  and  power  of  his  kingdom,  and  to 
relate,  with  a  perspicuous  brevity  worthy  of  imitation,  the 
leading  incidents  of  his  reign.  His  grave  relation  of  the 
means  by  which,  under  the  care  and  favor  of  a  beneficent 
Providence,  the  crown  of  Persia  first  fell  into  his  hands, 
and  of  the  manner  in  which  he  subsequently  established 
his  authority,  by  the  successive  overthrow  of  the  rebels 
who  opposed  him,  contrasts  strongly  but  most  favorably 
with  the  usual  emptiness  of  Oriental  hyperbole." 

The  following  are  some  of  the  translations  from  the 
great  inscription  at  Behistun,  which  embraces  upwards 
of  four  hundred  lines  in  the  arrow-headed  characters. 
In  Major  Rawlinson's  Memoir,  are  given  fac-similes  of 
the  original  inscriptions,  a  transcription  of  the  same  in 
Roman  letters  with  an  interlineal  translation  in  Latin, 
and  a  translation  in  English.  Accompanying  these,  is 
a  critical  commentaiy  on  each  line,  together  with  notes, 
rendering  the  whole  as  clear  as  possible. 

"  I  am  Darius,  the  great  king,  the  king  of  kings,  the  king  of  Persia,  the  king 
of  (the  dependent)  provinces,  the  son  of  Hystaspes,  the  grandson  of  Arsames,  the 
Achsemenian. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — My  father  was  Hystaspes ;  of  Hystaspes,  the  father 
was  Arsames  ;  of  Arsames,  the  father  was  Ariyaramnes  ;  of  Ariyaramnes,  the 
father  was  Teispes  ;  of  Teispes,  the  father  was  Achaemenes. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King  : — On  that  account,  we  have  been  called  Achaemeni- 
ans :  from  antiquity  we  have  been  unsubdued  ;  from  antiquity  those  of  our  race 
have  been  kings. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — There  are  eight  of  my  race  who  have  been  kings 
before  me,  I  am  the  ninth  ;  for  a  very  long  time  we  have  been  kings. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King: — By  the  grace  of  OiTnuzd,  I  am  king  ;  Ormuzd  has 
granted  me  the  empire. 

•  Memoir  on  the  Persian  cuneiform  inscriptions,     p.  47. 


I 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  99 

"  Says  Darius  tlie  King: — These  are  the  countries  whicli  have  fallen  into  my 
hands — by  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  I  have  become  king  of  them — Persia,  Susiana, 
Babylonia,  Assyria,  Arabia,  Egypt ;  those  which  are  of  the  sea,  Sparta  and  Ionia  ; 
Armenia,  Cappadocia,  Parthia,  Zarangea,  Aria,  Chorasmia,  Bactria,  Sogdiana. 
the  Sacae,  the  Satiagydes,  Arachosia,  and  the  Mecians;  the  total  amount  being 
twenty-one  countries. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King; — These  are  the  countries  which  have  come  to  me  ; 
by  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  they  have  become  subject  to  me — they  have  brought 
tribute  to  me.  That  which  has  been  said  unto  them  by  me,  both  by  night  and 
by  day,  it  has  been  performed  by  them. 

"Says  Darius  the  King: — Ormuzd  has  granted  me  the  empire.  Ormuzd  has 
brought  help  to  me  until  I  have  gained  this  empire.  By  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  I 
hold  this  empire. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King: — .  ...  He  who  was  named  Cambyses,  the  son  of 
Cyrus  of  our  race,  he  was  here  king  before  me.  There  was  of  that  Cambyses  a 
brother  named  Bartius  ;  he  was  of  the  same  father  and  mother  as  Cambyses. 
Cambyses  slew  this  Bartius.  When  Cambyses  slew  that  Bartius,  the  troubles  of 
the  state  ceased  which  Bartius  had  excited.  Then  Cambyses  proceeded  to 
Egypt.  When  Cambyses  had  gone  to  Egypt,  the  state  became  heretical ;  then 
the  lie  became  abounding  in  the  land,  both  in  Persia  and  in  Media,  and  in  the 
other  provinces." 

He  then  goes  on  to  speak  of  the  rebellions  in  his  domin- 
ions after  the  death  of  Cambyses,  of  the  Magian  who 
declared  himself  king,  and  that  no  one  dared  to  resist 
him.     He  continues : 

"everyone  was -standing  obediently  around  the  Magian,  until  I  arrived. 
Then  I  abode  in  the  worship  of  Ormuzd  ;  Ormuzd  brought  help  to  me.  On  the 
10th  day  of  the  month  Bagayadish,  I  slew  the  Magian  and  the  chief  men  who 
were  his  followers.  By  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  I  became  king  ;  Ormuzd  granted 
me  the  sceptre." 

He  then  says,  he  "  established  his  race  on  the  throne, 
as  in  the  days  of  old,"  prohibited  the  sacrificial  worship 
introduced  by  the  Magian,  and  restored  the  old  fam'ilies 
to  office, — ^all  of  which  was  accomplished  by  the  aid  of 
Ormuzd.  The  people  of  Susiana  and  Babylon  then  be- 
came rebellious.     He  slew  the  leader  of  the  former. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King: — Then  I  proceeded  to  Babylon  against  that  Natita- 
birus,  who  was  called  Nabokhadrosser  (Nebuchadnezzar).  The  forces  of  Nati- 
tabirus  held  the  Tigris  ;  there  they  had  come  and  they  had  boats.     Then  I  placed 


100  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOlOGY. 

a  detachment  on  rafts.  I  brought  the  enemy  into  difficulty  ;  I  assaulted  the 
enemy's  position.  Ormuzd  brought  help  to  me  ;  by  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  passing  the  Tigris,  Then  I  entirely  defeated  the  army  of  that  Natita- 
birus.  On  the  27th  day  of  the  month  of  Atriyata,  then  it  was  that  we  thus 
fought." 

Darius  then  continued  his  march  to  Babylon,  where  he 
was  met  by  the  army  of  Natitabirus ;  he  gave  him  battle 
and  defeated  him,  driving  his  army  into  the  water.  He 
then  took  Babylon.  It  would  appear  from  what  this 
monarch  relates,  that  he  had  a  pretty  rebellious  set  of 
subjects,  who  took  advantage  of  his  absence  at  Babylon. 
The  inscription  continues. 

"Says  Darius  the  King: — whilst  I  was  at  Babylon,  these  are  the  countries 
that  revolted  against  me  ;  Persis,  Susiana,  Media,  Assy]^a,  Armenia,  Parthia, 
Margiana,  Sattagydia  and  Sacia. 

He  then  gives  the  names  of  the  rebellious  leaders  and 
of  the  officers  sent  to  subjugate  them  ;  the  forts,  villages, 
or  cities,  where  battles  were  fought ;  the  day  of  the  month 
when  they  took  place,  and  the  result,  in  every  case,  by 
the  help  of  Ormuzd.  One  example  will  suffice.  After 
speaking  of  the  revolt  of  Armenia,  the  inscription 
continues. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — Then  Dadarses  by  name,  an  Armenian,  one  of  my 
servants,  him  I  sent  to  Armenia.  I  thus  said  to  him :  '  Greeting  to  thee,  the 
rebel  stale  that  does  not  obey  me,  smite  it.'  Then  Dadarses  marched.  When 
he  reached  Armenia,  then  the  rebels  having  collected  came  before  Dadarses  ar- 
raying their  battle  ....  by  name,  a  village  of  Armenia,  there  they  engaged. 
Ormuzd  brought  help  to  me  ;  by  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  my  forces  entirely  defeated 
that  rebel  army.  On  the  8th  of  the  month  Thurawahara,  then  it  was  a  battle 
was  fought  by  them." 

In  this  manner  we  have  the  whole  history  of  the  reign 
of  Darius  king  of  Persia,  who  fille(^the  throne  550  B.  C. 
And  it  may  truly  be  said  that  no  monument  of  remote 
antiquity  which  has  been  pre  erved  to  modern  times,  at 
all  equals  it  in  importance.     The  inscriptions  of  Egypt  are 


•  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  101 

far  more  ancient,  but  consist  of  fragments,  wliich,  except- 
ing the  tables  of  kings,  do  not  throw  much  Hght  on  liistory. 
Nothing  is  more  interesting  in  the  details  given  by  the 
Persian  king  of  his  successes,  than  his  acknowledgment 
of  an  overruling  power,  a  Supreme  Being,  who  protected 
him  and  aided  him  in  all  his  battles.  From  the  closing 
part  of  this  remarkable  tablet,  which  consists  of  twenty 
paragraphs,  we  select  the  following. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — This  is  what  I  have  done.  By  the  grace  of  Orniuzd 
have  I  achieved  the  performance  of  the  whole.  Thou  whoever  hereafter  may 
peruse  this  tablet,  let  it  be  known  to  thee,  that  which  has  been  done  by  nie,  that 
it  has  not  been  falsely  related. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — Ormuzd  is  my  witness,  that  this  record  I  have  faith- 
fully made  of  the  performance  of  the  whole. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — By  the  grace  of  Ormuzd,  there  is  much  else  that  has 

been  done  by  me  that  upon  this  tablet  has  not  been  inscribed If  thoa 

publish  this  tablet  to  the  world,  Ormuzd  shall  be  a  friend  to  thee,  and  may  thy 
offspring  be  numerous. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King : — If  thou  shalt  conceal  this  record,  thou  shalt  not  thy- 
self be  recorded  ;  may  Oniiuzd  be  thy  enemy,  and  mayest  thou  be  childless. 

"  Says  Darius  the  King: — As  long  as  thou  mayest  behold  this  tablet  and  these 
figures,  thou  mayest  not  dishonor  them  ;  and  if  from  injury  thou  shalt  pre.serve 
them,  may  Ormuzd  be  a  frienjJ  to  thee,  and  may  thy  offspring  be  numerous,  and 
mayest  thou  be  long  lived,  and  that  which  thou  mayest  do  may  Ormuzd  bless  for 
thee  in  after  times." 

The  great  inscription  from  which  we  have  made  these 
extracts,  is  sculptured  in  three  languages,  and  in  three 
different  forms  of  the  arrow-headed  character,  the  particu- 
lars of  which  have  been  stated.  There  are  a  few  imper- 
fections and  cracks  in  the  stone  which  made  certain  words 
and  sentences  unintelligible  ;  these  will  be  corrected 
when  the  other  two  inscriptions  are  decyphered.  In 'the 
midst  of  these  records  is  a  piece  of  sculpture  in  relief, 
representing  Darius  followed  by  two  of  his  officer.^,  with 
his  foot  upon  a  man,  who  raises  his  hands  before  him, 
and  nine  other  figures  representing  the  rebelhous  leaders 
whom  he  had  severally  conquered.  They  are  connected 
by  a  rope  around  their  necks  and  have  their  hands  tied 
behind,   and  are  probably  portraits   of  the  person.?  they 


102  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  • 

represent.     Beneath- each  is  engraved  his  name,  as  in  the 
extract  given. 

"  This  Natitabirus  was  an  impostor :  he  thus  declared, '  I  am  Nabokbadrosser, 
the  son  of  Nabonidas  ;  I  am  king  of  Babylon." 

The  discoveries  of  Professor  Westergaard,  to  whom  we 
are  indebted  for  the  key  to  the  second  or  Median  form  of 
the  arrow-headed  character,  require  notice.  This  accom- 
phshed  Orientahst,  on  his  return  from  an  archaeological 
tour  in  India  and  P.  rsia,  under  the  patronage  of  the  king 
of  Denmark,  brought  with  him,  among  other  literary- 
treasures,  copies  of  a  great  number  of  inscriptions  in  the 
arrow-headed  character.  While  in  Persepolis  he  care- 
fully examined  all  the  inscriptions  which  those  wonderful 
ruins  still  retain.  Those  which  had  already  been  pub- 
lished, he  accurately  compared  with  the  original  monu- 
ments, and  the  remainder  he  copied  entire.  This  gentle- 
man went  thoroaojhly  furnished  with  all  the  preparatory 
knowledge  that  .•■.uld  be  gained  in  Europe  to  ensure 
success.  He  had  shown  himself  by  his  publications  to 
be  an  excellent  Sanscrit  scholar ;  besides  which  he  had 
acquired  as  complete  a  knowledge  of  the  Zend  language 
as  it  is  possible  to  do  at  present,  and  was  well  acquainted 
with  all  that  had  been  effected  in  the  way  of  decyphering 
the  inscriptions.  Having  thus  so  greatly  the  advantage 
of  his  predecessors,  Niebuhr,  Ker  Porter,  and  Rich,  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  his  transcripts  are  proportion- 
ably  more  accurate  and  complete. 

It  has  long  been  known  that  all  the  inscriptions  at  Per- 
sepolis are  triple,  like  those  on  the  Behistun  tablets,  before 
described.  Those  of  the  first  or  simplest  variety,  have 
all  been  translated  by  Professor  Lassen,*  to  whom  Pro- 
fessor Westergaard  transmitted  them.  Accompanying  his 
translations  are  critical  and  explanatory  remarks,  proving 


*  Zeitschrift  fiir  die  Kunde  des  Morgenlandes,  1844  '45. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  103 

conclusively  the  correctness  of  his  version.  The  inscrip- 
tions at  and  near  Persepolis,  relate  to  Xerxes.  They  do 
not  possess  the  historical  value  that  the  tablets  of  his  father 
do  on  the  rocks  of  Behistun,  but  consist  of  praises  of 
Ormuzd  for  blessings  he  had  received,  and  of  himself  for 
the  additions  he  made  to  the  royal  palace  at  Persepolis. 
The  following  is  a  translation  of  an  inscription  on  the 
wall  of  an  immense  portal  at  Nakshi  Regib,  two  miles 
from  Persepolis.* 

"  Ormuzd  (is)  the  great  God.  He  created  this  earth;  he  created  the  heavens; 
he  created  mortals ;  he  created  the  fortune  of  mortals.  He  made  king  Xerxes 
the  only  king  of  many,  the  only  emperor  of  many. 

"  I  Xerxes  (am)  the  great  king,  the  king  of  kings,  the  king  of  realms  inhabited 
by  many  nations ;  the  sustainer,  the  author  of  this  great  land  ;  the  son  of  king 
Darius,  the  Achsemenide. 

"  I  (am)  the  noble  Xerxes,  the  great  king.  By  the  will  of  Ormuzd,  I  have 
built  this  portal  to  be  entered  by  the  people.  Let  the  Persians  abide,  let  them 
congregate  under  this  portal,  and  in  this  palace — the  palace  which  my  father 
built  for  abiding  in.     By  the  will  of  Ormuzd  we  built  them. 

"  I  (am)  the  noble  king  Xerxes.  Protect  me  0  Ormuzd  ;  and  also  this  king- 
dom, and  this  my  palace,  and  my  father's  palace  protect,  0  admirable  Ormuzd." 

No  inscriptions  have  yet  been  found  in  Persia  of  Arta-. 
xerxes,  the  first  son  of  Xerxes.  A  vase,  however,  was  dis- 
covered at  Venice  by  Sir  J.  G.  Wilkinson,  bearing  an 
inscription  in  hieroglyphics,  and  in  the  three  species  of 
arrow-headed  characters  so  common  in  Persia.  This 
vase  and  its -inscriptions  have  been  examined  by  M.  Le- 
tronne  and  M.  Longp6rier,  who  do  not  hesitate  to  ascribe 
it  to  Artaxerxes  the  first,  or  Longimanus,  whose  names  and 
titles  have  been  made  out  both  in  the  hieroglyphics  and 
cuneiform  characters.! 

An  inscription  of  great  historical  interest  of  Artaxerxes 
the  third,  has  been  found  at  Persepolis.}     It  is  in  only  one 


•  For  inscription  see  Rich's  Babylon  and  Persepolis,  plate  24,  and  page  254. 
t  Revue  Archeeologique.     October,  18'14. 

i  Westergaard  in  M6m.  de  la  Soci<;.     Royale  des  Antiq.  du    Nord,  p.  419. 
Ibid.     p.  423. 


Ci 


104  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

species  of  the  Achoemenian  writing,  and  is  noticed  by 
Prof.  Westergaard  as  exhibiting  "  a  most  remarkable 
change  and  decay  which  the  language  must  have  under- 
gone in  the  interval  between  the  reigns  of  Xerxes  and  this 
monarch."  In  a  philological  point  of  view,  this  fact  is 
interesting  as  showing  so  early  a  decline  of  the  Persian 
language. 

But  the  most  important  part  of  this  inscription  consists 
of  the  genealogy  of  Artaxerxes  the  third,  from  Arsama, 
the  Greek  Arsames,  the  father  of  Hystaspes,  completely 
agreeing  with  that  given  by  Grecian  historians.  In  this 
as  well  as  in  all  the  other  inscriptions  thus  far  decyphered, 
Ormuzd  is  invariably  invoked  ;  he  is  called  upon  to  aid 
them,  and  the  several  sovereigns  acknowledge  their  grati- 
tude to  him  as  to  an  all-protecting  Providence  for  the 
blessings  received. 

Nineveh.  We  have  received  from  M.  Mohl,  of  Paris, 
an  account  of  the  researches  of  MM.  Botta  and  Flan- 
din,*  on  or  near  the  site  of  ancient  Nineveh. 

This  volume  contains  letters  from  M.  Botta,  giving  the 
details  of  his  discoveries,  accompanied  by  fifty-five  plates 
of  sculptures,  statues,  and  inscriptions.  He  penetrated  into 
the  interior  of  a  large  mound,  where  he  found  a  series  of 
halls  and  chambers,  the  walls  of  which  were  covered  witli 
paintings  and  relievos  representing  historical  events,  and 
scenes  illustrating  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Assy- 
rians. The  drawings  and  sculptures  exhibit  a  higher  state 
of  art  than  the  monuments  of  Egypt.  The  figures  are 
remarkably  well  drawn,  both  as  it  regards  the  anatomy 
and  the  costumes.  The  men  appear  to  be  more  athletic 
than  the  Egyptians — they  wear  long  hair  combed  smooth 
over  the  top  of  the  head,  and  curled  behind.  The  beard 
is  also  long  and  always  curled.  Their  dresses  are  exceed- 


*  Lettres  de  M.  Botta  sur  les  decouvertes  h  Khorsabad,  pres  de  Ninive  ;  pub- 
li^es  par  M.  J.  Mohl. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  105 

ingly  rich  and  profuse  in  ornaments  and  trimmings. 
Ear-rings,  bracelets,  and  armlets,  of  various  forms  and  ela- 
borately wrought,  are  seen  on  most  of  the  figures  both  of 
the  men  and  women.  The  discoveries  made  by  M.  Botta 
have  induced  others  to  explore  the  ground  in  that  vicinity. 
An  English  traveller,  Mr.  Layard,  has  recently  opened  a 
mound  many  times  larger  than  that  excavated  by  the 
French.  "It  contains  the  remains  of  a  palace,  a  part  of 
which,  like  that  at  Khorsabad,  appears  to  have  been 
burnt.  There  is  a  vast  series  of  chambers,  all  built  with 
marble,  and  covered  with  sculptures  and  inscriptions. 
The  inscriptions  are  in  the  cuneiform  character,  of  the 
class  usually  termed  Babylonian.  It  is  possible  that  this 
edifice  was  built  at  an  epoch  prior  to  the  overthrow  of 
the  Assyrian  Empire  by  the  Modes  and  Babylonians  un- 
der Cyaxares.  Many  of  the  sculptures  discovered  by  Mr. 
Layard  are,  even  in  the  smallest  details,  as  sharp  and 
fresh  as  though  they  had  been  chiselled  yesterday. 
Among  them  is  a  pair  of  winged  lions  with  human  heads, 
about  twelve  feet  high.  They  form  the  entrance  to  a 
temple.  The  execution  of  these  figures  is  admirable,  and 
gives  the  highest  idea  of  the  knowledge  and  civilization 
of  the  Assyrians.  There  are  many  monsters  of  this  kind, 
lions  and  bulls.  The  other  reliefs  consist  of  various  di- 
vinities, some  with  eagles'  heads — others  entirely  human 
but  winged — with  battle-pieces  and  sieges."* 

Other  letters  from  Mr.  Layard  of  a  later  dater  date  than 
that  just  mentioned,  announce  new  discoveries.  "Another 
mine  has  been  opened  at  Nimroud ;  and  every  stroke 
of  the  pick-axe  brings  new  wonders  to  light."  Old  Nine- 
veh, whose  very  existence  had  become  little  better  than 
a  vague  historic  dream,  is  astonishing  the  world  by  her 


*  London  Times,  June,  1846.  Two  interesting  letters  from  Mr.  Layard, 
dated  August  12,  1846,  to  Mr.  Kellogg,  of  Cincinnati,  were  read  before  the 
American  Ethnological  Society,  at  its  meeting  in  February,  giving  further 
accounts  of  his  discoveries. 


106  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY 

buildings  her  sculptures,  and  her  many  thousands  of 
inscriptions,  which  have  been  brought  to  hght  by  the  ex- 
plorations of  Mr.  Layard.*  "  He  has  opened  fourteen 
chambers  and  uncovered  two  hundred  and  fifty  sculp- 
tured slabs.  The  grand  entrance  previously  described 
led  him  into  a  hall  above  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long 
and  thirty  broad — entirely  built  of  slabs  of  marble  cov- 
ered with  sculptures.  The  side  walls  are  ornamented 
with  bas-reliefs  of  the  highest  interest — battles,  sieges, 
lion-hunts,  &c. ;  many  of  them  in  the  finest  state  of  pre- 
servation, and  all  executed  v/ith  extraordinaiy  spirit. 
They  afford  a  complete  history  of  the  military  art  of  the 
Assyrians ;  and  prove  their  intimate  knowledge  of  many 
of  those  machines  of  war,  whose  invention  is  attributed  to 
the  Greeks  and  Romans — such  as  the  battering  ram,  the 
tower  moving  on  wheels,  the  catapult,  &c.  Nothing  can 
exceed  the  beauty  and  elegance  of  the  forms  of  various 
arms,  swords,  daggers,  bows,  spears,  &c.  In  this 
great  hall  are  several  entrances,  each  formed  by  winged 
lions,  or  winged  bulls.t  These  lead  to  other  chambers ; 
which  again  branch  off  into  a  hundred  ramifications. 
Every  chamber  is  built  of  marble  slabs  covered  with 
sculptures  or  inscriptions."  The  excavations  thus  far  only 
extend  to  one  corner  of  a  great  mound,  the  largest  on  the 
plain,  measuring  about  one  thousand  eight  hundred  feet 
by  nine  hundred.  The  wonders  that  may  be  brought  to 
light  from  a  more  complete  survey  of  this  vast  heap  of 
ruins,  will  be  looked  forward  to  with  intense  interest. 

All  are  familiar  with  the  accounts  of  the  building  of  this 
city  by  Asshur,  (whence  the  name  Assyria,)  and  of  the  first 

*  See  London  Athenaeum,  Oct.  10,  1846,  a  letter  from  Constantinople  dated 
Sept.   10. 

t  The  prophet  Daniel  in  his  vision  of  four  beasts  says,  "  The  first  was  like  a  lion, 
and  had  eagles'  wings  ;  I  beheld  till  the  wings  thereof  were  plucked,  and  it  was 
lifted  up  from  the  earth,  and  made  stand  upon  the  feet  as  a  man."  Daniel,  ch. 
VII.  V.  4.  The  resemblance  between  the  animal  of  Daniel's  vision  and  those  re- 
cently discovered  at  Nineveh  is  striking. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  107 

empire  under  Niinrod.  In  this  short  record  wc  have  the 
first  traces  of  pohtical  institutions  and  of  great  cities.  They 
burst  upon  us,  and  as  suddenly  disappear  from  the  world's 
history  for  more  than  a  thousand  years.  A  learned  author 
of  the  last  century*  has  endeavored  to  throw  distrust  on 
all  that  the  Greek  writers  have  written  about  these  coun- 
tries, because  in  the  Persian  historians  he  could  not  recog- 
nise the  great  Cyrus  and  other  prominent  characters  which 
fill  important  places  in  the  Grecian  annals.  But  the 
revelations  already  made  through  the  arrow-headed  in- 
scriptions must  remove  these  doubts,  as  they  substantiate 
in  a  remarkable  degree  the  assertions  of  the  Greek  writers. 
The  observations  of  a  learned  Orientalist  are  so  well 
adapted  to  this  subject  that  I  cannot  forbear  quoting 
them.  *'  The  formation  of  mighty  and  civilized  states 
being  admitted  even  by  our  strictest  chronologers  to  have 
taken  place  at  least  twenty-five  centuries  before  our  era, 
it  can  but  appear  extraordinaiy,  even  after  taking  into 
account  violent  revolutions,  that  of  so  multitudinous  and 
great  existences,  only  such  scanty  documents  have  come 
down  to  us.  But,  strange  to  say,  whenever  a  testimony 
has  escaped  the  destruction  of  time,  instead  of  being 
greeted  with  a  benevolent  though  discerning  curiosity, 
the  unexpected  stranger  is  approached  with  mistrustful 
scrutiny,  his  voice  is  stifled  with  severe  rebuke,  his  cre- 
dentials discarded  with  scorn,  and  by  a  predetermined  and 
stubborn  condemnation,  resuscitating  antiquity  is  repelled 
into  the  tomb  of  oblivion. f 

A  journey  of  much  interest  was  undertaken  by  Dr. 
Robert  in  18  3,  who  was  directed  by  the  French  govern- 
ment to  continue,  in  the  west  of  the  Himalaya  range  and 
the  high  region  adjacent,  the  geographical,  physical,  and 
ethnographical  observations  which  had  been  begun  by  M. 
Jaquemont.     The  latest  accounts   from  this  intrepid   tra- 

*  Richardson  in  the  Preface  to  his  Persian  Dictionary. 

t  Preface  to  the  "  Dabistan"  published  by  the  Oriental  Trans.  Fund  : — by 
A.  Troyer.     Vol.  I.  p.  30. 


108  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

veller  left  him  in  the  inaccessible  valleys  of  Chinese  Tar- 
tary,  from  whence  it  was  his  intention  to  pass  through 
Turkestan,  for  the  purpose  of  entering  China  on  the  north.* 
In  the  same  distant  region  we  hear  of  the  journeys  of 
H.  R.  H.  Prince  Waldemar,  of  Prussia  (cousin  to  the  king). 
"  Consulting  only  his  ardor  for  science,  and  burthened 
with  the  usual  load  carried  by  a  traveller  on  foot,  he 
scaled  the  lofty  Himmalayah,  crossed  the  frontier  of  the 
Celestial  Empire,  and  reached  the  table-land  of  Thibet."t 
The  prince  has  already  transmitted  a  large  collection  of 
objects  of  natural  history,  many  of  which  are  new,  to 
Berlin.  It  is  his  intention  to  return  to  Europe  by  way  of 
Affghanistan,  Persia,  and  Asia  Minor. 

*  Annales  des  Voyages,  April,  1845,  p.  58. 

tLd.  Colchester's  Address,  Journal  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society,  1846. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  late  works  oti  Assyria  and  Persia,  as  well  as 
those  relating  to  the  arrow-head  inscriptions. 

The  Persian  Cuneiform  Inscriptions  at  Behistun,  decyphered  and  translated ; 
with  a  Memoir  on  Persian  cuneiform  inscriptions  in  general,  and  on  that  of  Be- 
histun in  particular,  by  Major  H.  C.  Rawlinson,  Bvo.,  in  the  journal  of  the  Royal 
Asiatic  Society.     Vol.  10.     London,  1846. 

On  the  Decyphering  of  the  second  Achaemenian  or  Median  species  of  Arrow- 
headed  Writing ;  by  N.  L.  Westergaard,  8vo.,  in  the  Memoires  de  la  Societe 
Royale  des  Antiquaires  du  Nord.     Copenhagen,  1844. 

Lettres  de  M.  Botta  sur  les  D^couvertes  h,  Khorsabad,  prfes  de  Ninive,  publi^es 
par  M.  J.  Mohl,  8vo.,  with  56  plates.     Paris,  1845. 

Essai  sur  la  Numismatique  des  Satrapies  et  de  la  Phenicie,  sous  les  rois  Achae- 
menides,  par  H.  de  Luynes,  4to.     Paris,  1846. 

The  Manual,  Formation  and  early  Origin  of  the  Hebrew  letters  and  points, 
demonstrated  and  explained ;  also  an  Elucidation  of  the  so-called  Arrow-headed 
or  Cuneiform  characters.     8vo.     London,  1847. 

Essai  de  Dechifhement  de  I'Ecriture  Assyrienne  pour  servir  d  I'explication  du 
Monument  de  Khorsabad.     Par  J.  Lowenstern.     8vo.     Paris,  1846. 

Die  Grabscrift  des  Darius  zu  Nakschi  Rustum  erlautert.  Von  F.  Hitzig. 
Zurich,  8vo.  1846. 

Remarks  on  the  Wedge  Inscription  recently  discovered  on  the  upper  Euphra- 
tes by  the  Prussian  engineer,  Capt.  Von  Miilbach.  Being  a  commentary  on 
certain  fundamental  principles  in  the  art  of  decyphering  the  "  cuneatic"  charac- 
ters of  the  ancient  Assyrians,  by  G.  F.  Grotefend.  8vo.  In"  the  papers  of  the 
Syro-Egyptian  Society.     Vol.  I.     London,  1845. 

Voyage  en  Perse,  de  MM.  Eugene  Flandin  et  P.  Coste.  Recueil  d' Archi- 
tecture ancienne,  Bas  reliefs,  inscriptions  cuneiformes  et  Pehlvis,  plaus  topogra- 
phiques  et  vues  pittoresques.     Folio.     250  plates  and  text. 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY.  109 

Siberia.  To  the  love  of  science  which  the  enlightened 
Emperor  of  Russia,  has  always  manifested,  we  are 
indebted  for  an  expedition,  the  most  successful  which  has 
yet  been  undertaken  for  the  exploration  of  the  northern 
and  eastern  parts  of  Siberia.  The  results  of  this  extensive 
exploration  of  a  region  not  before  examined  by  scientific 
men,  are  of  the  greatest  interest  to  science,  and  have 
earned  for  its  distinguished  and  undaunted  leader.  Prof. 
Von  MiddendorfT,  the  applause  of  the  savans  of  Europe. 
Not  having  seen  any  detailed  account  of  this  journey,  1 
am  indebted  to  Sir  R.  Murchison  lor  some  particulars  of 
its  results.* 

The  expedition  traversed  the  whole  extent  of  Siberia, 
from  east  to  west,  and  from  south  to  north,  even  to  the 
extreme  northern  headland  of  Taimyr.  "  Undaunted 
by  the  severe  privations  he  had  undergone  in  obtaining 
his  knowledge  of  the  far  northern  lands  of  Siberia,  he 
next  undertook  the  not  less  arduous  task  of  traversing  the 
whole  of  that  vast  continent  to  the  Shantar  Isles,  at  its 
southeastern  extremity,  and  thence  to  return  to  Nertchinsk, 
along  the  Chinese  frontier.  His  journey  through  thickly- 
wooded  rocks,   deep  morasses  and  over  swollen  rivers, 


This  magnificent  work,  the  result  of  an  expedition  sent  out  by  order  of  the 
French  government,  under  the  directions  of  the  Institute,  and  now  published  by 
a  commission  of  savans,  consisting  of  Messrs  Burnouf,  Le  Bas,  and  Leclerc,  is  in 
the  course  of  publication.  It  will  unquestionably  be  the  most  complete  work 
ever  published  on  this  interesting  country  and  will  include  the  antiquitiea  of 
Babylon  and  Nineveh. 

G.  F.  Grotefend,  Neue  Beitriige  zur  Erliluterung  der  Persopolitanischen 
Keilschrift,  nebst  einem  Anhange  iiber  die  VoUkommenheit  derersten  Art-der- 
selben.     Hanover,  1837. 

G.  F.  Grotefend,  Neue  Beitrage  zur  Erliluterung  der  Babylonisclicn  Keil- 
schrift, nebst  einem  Anhange  iiber  die  Beschaffensheit  des  altesten  Schriftdruck. 
Hanover,  1840. 

The  valuable  Oriental  Jourjpl  edited  by  Prof.  Lassen,  entitled  "  Zeitsclirift 
fiir  die  Kunde  des  Morgenlandcs,"  contains  many  papers  of  great  interest  on  these 
subjects. 

*  Address  to  the  British  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  at  its 
meeting,  September,  184G. 

10 


110  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

was  so  successfully  accomplished,  that  the  stores  he  has 
brought  back  to  St.  Petersburgh,  will  fully  lay  open  the 
Fauna  and  Flora  of  a  region  never  previously  explored 
by  a  man  of  science." 

"Floating  down  the  sea  of  Okotsk  from  Udskoi  in  frail 
canoes,  M.  MiddendorfF  and  his  friends,  braving  shoals  of 
floating  ice  and  perpetual  rains,  reached  Nitka  on  the 
great  Shantar  island.  The  wild  regions  which  were  tra- 
versed, in  many  parts  could  only  be  threaded  hy  following 
the  tracks  formed  hy  hears  beneath  the  dense  matting  of  under- 
wood and  birch  trees'"'  In  his  return  journey,  he  examined 
the  frontier  line  of  China,  a  tract  never  explored  even  by 
a  Cossack,  and  ascertained  that  between  the  Udskoi  of 
the  Russians  and  the  mouth  of  the  Amur,  there  is  a 
considerable  tract  quite  independent  both  of  Russia  and 
China,  and  occupied  by  a  people  called  Guilaiques,  who 
pay  no  tribute  to  either  Emperor. 

In  addition  to  the  several  arduous  journeys  performed 
by  this  intrepid  traveller  and  his  companions,  many  ques- 
tions hitherto  unsolved  were  investigated  and  much  new 
light  added  to  our  previous  knowledge  on  these  respective 
points.  One  was  the  real  state  of  the  question  of  the 
frozen  subsoil  of  Siberia.  "  By  placing  thermometers  at 
various  depths  in  the  shaft  at  Yakutsk,  he  has  found  that 
at  its  bottom,  or  at  382  feet  below  the  surface,  the  cold  is 
2°  4"  Reaumur,  and  that  it  is  probable  the  frozen  subsoil 
reaches  to  the  great  depth  of  about  600  feet !  Notwith- 
standing this  extraordinary  phenomenon,  the  lateral  ex- 
tent of  which  has  still  to  be  determined,  it  appears  that 
the  culture  of  r3^e  succeeds  perfectly  under  favorable 
local  conditions  in  those  regions,  and  that  the  crops  of 
grain  are  more  abundant  than  in  Livonia!"  M.  Midden- 
dorf  has  also  thrown  new  light  on  the  boreal  range  of 
vegetation.  He  has  ascertained  "  tllat  whilst  rye,  turnips, 
beets,  and  potatoes  grow  on  the  Yenisei  to  latitude  61° 
40',  indigenous  plants,  requiring  less  warmth,  flourish 
much  farther   north,    and  that    even   trees  with  vertical 


THE    PROORESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  1  1  1 

Stems  reach  to  about  72°  north  latitude,  in  that  parallel 
of  longitude  !"  This  fact  will  show  that  geographers  can 
n^  longer  mark  the  limit  of  vegetation  by  a  rectilinear 
zone,  but  must  accommodate  such  line  to  cliaiatological 
and  local  conditions. 

In  regard  to  the  mammoths,  the  fossil  bones  of  which 
have  been  found  in  Siberia,  M.  Middendorf  has  shown 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  views  of  Professor  (~)\ven, 
(who  states  that  these  quadrupeds  were  specially  organ- 
ized to  live  on  the  branches  and  leaves  of  such  shrubs 
and  trees  as  grow  in  boreal  latitudes)  there  are  still  trees 
in  latitude  72°  which  would  suffice  for  their  sustenance. 

The  Ethnology  of  this  region  has  been  elucidated  by 
our  traveller,  who  by  investigating  the  languages  and 
physical  characteristics  of  these  remote  tribes,  has  been 
enabled  to  affiliate  them  with  their  parent  stocks. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  geology  and  geography  of  the 
northern  and  southeastern  extremities  of  Siberia  have  been 
greatly  extended  by  this  journey ;  in  fact  no  enquiry  for 
the  advancement  of  science  and  a  knowledge  of  this  far 
distant  and  hitherto  unknown  refifion,  seems  to  have  been 
neglected.* 

Another  scientific  expedition  of  an  Ethnological  char- 
acter is  employed  in  Siberia  under  the  direction  of  M. 
Castren,  who  has  devoted  much  of  his  first  report  to  the 
geography  of  the  country.  After  speaking  of  the  river 
Irtisch  and  its  fisheries,  he  gives  some  account  of  the 
Ostiaks,  the  most  ancient  people  of  its  banks.  Surround- 
ed by  Russians  and  Tartars,  they  have  lost  all  their 
nationality  except  their  language.  The  Tartar  influence 
is  feeble,  but  that  of  Russia  is  felt  in  their  religion,  their 
manners,  their  customs  and  even  in  their  general  mode 
of  thinking. 

A  paper  containing  "  Ethnological  Notes  on  Siberia,"  by 


*  The  Royal  Geographical  Society  of  London  has  conferred  its  Victoria  Gold 
Medal  on  Prof.  Middendorff  for  his  successful  exploration. 


112  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

Prof.  Von  MiddendorfF,  was  read  at  the  late  meeting  of 
the  British  Association  for  the  advancement  of  science. 
"  In  this  paper,  the  geographical  boundaries  of  the  dif- 
ferent tribes  were  set  forth,  the  tribes  were  enumerated 
and  some  of  the  characteristic  peculiarities  described. 
The  1st,  was  the  Ostiaks ;  these  were  stated  to  be  of 
Finnish  origin,  on  both  physiological  and  philological 
evidence.  2d,  the  Sg.moiedes,  who  were  of  Mongol  de- 
scent. 3rd,  the  Tunguses.  4th,  the  Yakuts  ;  the  extent 
to  which  Mongol  features  were  found  in  a  nation  speaking 
a  language  akin  to  Turkish,  was  insisted  on.  5th,  the 
Yukagins;  the  physical  peculiarities  of  which  placed  them 
along  with  the  Samoiedes.  6th,  the  Ainos  ;  these  were 
the  inhabitants  of  the  Kinule  islands  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Arnus ;  of  these  there  were  two  types,  the  Finnish  and 
the  Japanese.  7th,  the  Kachkell ;  these  were  only  known 
through  the  Ainos." 

A  geographical  Society  has  lately  been  founded  at  St. 
Petersburg,  to  which  the  emperor  proposed  to  give  ten 
thousand  silver  rubles  annually.  The  first  great  explora- 
tory expedition  under  the  directions  and  patronage  of  this 
Society  will  be  directed  along  tfte  eastern  flank  of  the 
Ural  mountains,  from  the  parallel  of  60°  north  (Bogoslafsk) 
to  the  Glacial  sea.  This  survey  is  to  be  conducted  by 
Count  A.  Von  Keyserling,  already  known  to  the  public 
through  his  valuable  geological  co-operation  in  the  work 
on  Russia,  by  Sir  R.  I.  Murchison  ;  and  who  by  his  sound 
acquirements  in  geology,  zoology  and  geography,  will  it 
is  presumed,  during  the  ensuing  three  years,  throw  great 
additional  light  on  the  wild  Arctic  Ural  which  separates 
Europe  from  Asia,  and  which,  inhabited  by  Ostiaks  and 
Samoiedes,  extends  beyond  the  limits  of  arboreal  vege 
tation.  Among  numerous  other  objects,  it  is  hoped  that 
this  expedition  will  elicit  new  results  concerning  the 
entombment  and  preservation  of  the  mammoths.* 

*Lord  Colchester's  Address  before  the  Royal  Geog.  Society.     London,  1846. 


THE    PRORRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  113 

India.  The  obstacles  which  have  existed  in  India,  nnd 
which  have  retarded  the  extension  of  European  civilization, 
will  now  be  effectually  removed  by  the  noble  step  taken 
by  Lord  Hardinge,  the  Governor  General,  for  promo- 
ting education  in  that  country.*  This  benevolent  and 
excellent  man,  whose  well  earned  laurels  on  the  field  of 
battle  are  not  more  honorable  than  his  philanthropic 
efforts  in  extending  education  among  the  natives  of  India, 
and  in  improving  their  social  condition,  "has  directed  the 
Council  of  Education  and  other  authorities  charged  with 
the  duty  of  superintending  public  instruction  throughout 
the  provinces  subject  to  the  government  of  Bengal,  to 
submit  returns  of  the  students  who  may  be  fitted  accord- 
ing to  their  degrees  of  merit  and  capacity,  for  such  of  the 
various  public  offices,  as  with  reference  to  their  age, 
abilities  and  other  circumstances,  they  may  be  deemed 
qualified  to  fill."  As  this  order  recognizes  no  distinction 
of  schools,  or  castes,  or  religion,  it  will  have  a  great 
influence  on  the  people,  towards  inducing  them  to  give 
their  children  the  benefit  of  a  good  education,  which  to  a 
great  extent  must  be  obtained  through  the  Christian  mis- 
sionaries. "  It  is,"  says  the  Friend  of  India,  "  the  most 
powerful  impulse  which  the  cause  of  education  has 
received  during  the  last  twenty-five  years.  It  makes  the 
seminaries  the  nursery  of  the  service,  and  the  service  the 
stimulant  of  the  seminaries.  It  introduces  the  enlightened 
principles  adopted  by  European  governments,  of  recruit- 
ing the  public  service  in  every  department  from  those 
who  have  earned  distinctions  in  the  public  schools.  At 
the  same  time  it  will  be  found  instrumental  in  the  highest 
degree  in  the  general  elevation  of  the  country.  It  will 
transplant  into  the  interior  that  European  knowledge  and 
science  which  has  hitherto'  been  confined  to  Calcutta, 
and  diffuse  their  influence  through  every  district." 

The  renunciation  of  idolatry  must  necessarily  foflow  the 

*  Missionary  Herald.    Vol.  XLI.     p.  138. 

10* 


114  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

first  steps  in  this  great  work  of  reform,  and  we  already 
see  it  noticed  that  in  southern  India,  within  the  short  pe- 
riod of  three  months,  eight  hundred  and  thirty-two  per- 
sons renounced  idolatry  and  embraced  Christianity.  This 
large  number  was  a  part  of  the  population  of  seven 
villages.* 

Such  changes  are  not  without  their  effects  on  the  great 
mass  of  the  natives,  indeed  it  is  only  by  removing  from 
their  minds  the  gross  superstition  in  which  they  have  been 
for  ages  immersed,  that  there  can  be  a  hope  of  improving 
their  social  condition.  The  wealthy  Hindoos  chng  to 
their  ancient  religion  with  greater  tenacity  as  it  totters 
towards  its  downfall,  than  when  in  its  most  flourishing 
state.  Alarmed  at  the  innovations  which  European  civi- 
lization and  Christianity  have  made,  they  are  printing  by 
subscription,  a  series  of  popular  religious  books  in  month- 
ly numbers,  on  their  doctrines,  rites,  superstitions  and 
idolatry.  Fearing  that  the  Europeans  and  such  as  have 
been  taught  to  observe  these  things  with  ridicule,  might 
controvert  them,  they  have  confined  the  subscription  to 
Hindoos,  and  have  directed  that  their  books  shall  be  rigid- 
ly kept  from  the  hands  of  Christians. 

The  Mahommedans  too,  in  Bengal,  are  greatly  alarmed 
at  the  danger  to  which  their  religion  is  exposed.  They 
have  prepared  tracts  and  books  in  opposition  to  Christian- 
ity, and  have  sent,  or  are  sending  emissaries  in  every 
direction,  with  a  view  to  strengthen  the  tottering  cause  of 
their  false  prophet.t  A  Mahommedan  merchant  in  Bom- 
bay has  printed  at  his  own  expense,  two  thousand  copies 
of  the  Koran,  for  gratuitous  distribution,  at  a  cost  of  several 
thousand  dollars. 

In  former  times  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries  were  di- 
rected to  proselyting  among  the  Hindoos  and  other  idola- 
ters ofthe  East,  without  first  making  themselves  acquainted 

»  Missionary  Herald.     Vol.  XLI.  p.  206. 

t  English  Baptist  Missionary  Report  for  1845.  p.  9. 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  1  1 5 

• 

with  the  fabric  which  they  were  laboring  so  earnestly  to 
demolish.  Nursed  and  educated  as  the  natives  were  in  the 
doctrines  and  superstitions  which  for  ages  their  forefathers 
had  venerated  and  professed,  the  efforts  of  the  missionaries 
and  of  others  who  labored  to  improve  their  condition  were 
unattended  with  success — and  a  conflict  between  Orien- 
tal and  European  civilization — between  Hindooism  and 
Christianity — between  the  false  science  of  the  shastres 
and  the  enlightenment  of  Europe,  for  a  long  time  existed  ; 
and  it  seemed  doubtful  whether  truth  or  falsehood  would 
triumph.  Now,  the  system  is  changed,  and  a  course  is 
pursued  which  bids  fair  to  produce  the  most  wonderful 
effects  on  the  people  of  India  and  China. 

'  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  missionary  enterprise  in 
India  was  a  failure,  and  did  not  warrant  the  large  sums 
expended  there.  Those  who  are  unfriendly  to  the  cause 
do  not  see  that  more  than  half  the  amount  there  expended 
was  for  educating  the  people,  for  improving  their  social  con- 
dition, for  translating  valuable  books  into  their  various  lan- 
guages and  for  establishing  among  them  that  mighty  en- 
gine of  civilization  and  reform,  the  printing  press.* 

*  It  appears  that  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society  in  the  year  ending  in  March, 
1845*  expended  in  India  $29,500,  of  which  sum  nearly  ,$15,000,  or  rather  more 
than  one  half,  was  expended  in  making  translations  of  books  into  various  languages. 
The  remainder  was  for  the  support  of  the  missionaries,  their  outfits  and  passages, 
the  support  of  native  teachers — schools  &c.  The  languages  and  dialects  which 
have  been  studied  and  elucidated  and  into  which  books  have  been  translated  may 
be  summed  up  as  follows. 

32  languages  and  dialects  in  India, 

4  do.  do.         in  Persia  and  the  Caucasian  countries,  . 

5  do.        in  China  and  the  Indo-Chinese  countries, 
4         do.        in  Polynesia. 

The  translations  consist  of  the  whole  or  portions  of  the  Scriptures  ;  books  on 
religious  or  moral  subjects  ;  elementary  works  on  Science,  popular  Histories, 
geography,  &c.  Elementary  books  in  the  several  departments  of  Science  and 
History  constitute  the  greater  variety,  though  of  the  whole  number  of  works  dis- 
tributed, the  Bible  and  Testament  constitute  by  far  the  greatest  part.  For 
example,  the  English  Baptist  Missionary  Society  printed  and  issued  in  the  year 
ending  March  1845,  fifty-five  thousand  copies  of  the  Bible  and  Testament  in 

•  Report  of  the  English  Baptist  Missionary  Society  for  1845. 


116  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

But  it  is  not  merely  in  the  translation  and  distribution 
of  these  books,  that  the  missionaries  have  rendered  so 
much  service.  In  this  labor  it  is  true  they  have  contribu- 
ted greatly  towards  disseminating  Christian  truth  and 
useful  knowledge  among  a  large  class  of  people,  and 
have  improved  their  religious,  their  moral  and  their  social 
condition.  But  to  Europe  and  to  the  learned  world  they 
have  also  furnished  a  vast  deal  of  philological  knowledge, 
elucidating  and  developing  languages  scarcely  known 
beyond  the  precincts  of  the  several  countries  in  which 
they  were  spoken.  Many  of  these  languages,  too,  were 
previously  unwritten  ;  and  from  this  rude  state  the  mis- 
sionaries have  trained  and  moulded  them  into  forms 
adapted  to  written  speech. 

While  speaking  of  the  labors  of  the  missionaries  in  the 
East,  I  should  do  great  injustice  to  Catholics  not  to  speak 
of  their  efforts  to  improve  the  moral  and  religious  condi- 
tion of  the  people  in  these  distant  countries.     In  the  most 


the  Sanscrit,  Bengali,  Hindostani,  and  Armenian  languages.  The  number  of 
books  printed  and  distributed  in  India  by  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions  was  as  follows. 

Madras  Mission.  In  the  Tamil  and  English  languages :  The  Scriptures  or 
portions  of  them — books  of  a  religious  character — elementary  school  books — 
tracts — periodicals  and  reports  of  benevolent  associations  bearing  on  the 
cause  of  Christianity  and  the  social  and  intellectual  improvement  of  the  popula- 
tion of  India,  there  were  printed  at  this  single  estabhshment,  within  a  fraction  of 
twenty-seven  millions  of  pages — or,  if  in  volumes  of  two  hundred  and  seventy 
pages  each,  one  hundred  thousand  volumes  ;  but  as  there  were  many  tracts,  the 
number  was  doubtless  double  or  treble.  Besides  this  there  are  six  other  large 
establishments  in  Southern  India,  where  books  in  the  Tamil  language  are  printed, 
all  under  the  control  of  Missionary  Societies. 

Ceylon  Mission.  In  the  Tamil  and  English  languages  were  printed  during 
the  year,  twenty-three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty-four  volumes,  and  one 
hundred  and  forty-five  thousand  tracts,  amounting  to  six  million  one  hundred  and 
fifty-six  thousand  pages. 

SiAM  Mission.  In  the  Siamese  language  were  printed  in  two  years  two  mil- 
lion four  hundred  and  sixty-two  thousand  pages. 

When  so  much  is  accomplished  by  one  Society,  how  vast  must  be  the  influence 
exerted  by  the  various  Missionary  and  Tract  Societies  engaged  in  the  same 
cause. 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY.  117 

barbarous  and  secluded  portions  of  the  earth  do  we  lind 
these  devoted  men  diUgently  hiboring  to  elevate  the  con- 
dition of  the  natives.  In  many  do  we  see  a  zeal  and 
devotedness,  an  endurance  of  hardships,  of  the  most  severe 
privations,  and  often  martyrdom  itself,  which  has  never 
been  surpassed  in  the  annals  of  missionary  enterprise. 
Neither  Francois  Xavier,  nor  Ignatius  Loyola,  so  famous 
among  the  pioneers  of  the  Eastern  missions,  ever  exhibi- 
ted a  greater  zeal  or  devotedness  than  we  now  witness 
among  the  Catholic  missionaries  in  Thibet,  China,  Corea, 
the  islands  of  the  Eastern  Archipelago  and  Occanica. 
Xhey  too  have  added  much  to  our  stock  of  knowledge  of 
the  inhabitants,  their  manners  and  customs,  and  their  lan- 
guages. Their  narratives  give  us  particular  accounts  of 
the  productions  of  the  countries  in  which  they  reside,  their 
trade,  commerce,  and  all  that  interests  us. 

SiAM.  An  interesting  fact  connected  with  the  progress 
of  European  civilization,  and  the  extension  of  Christianit}'' 
in  the  kingdom  of  Siam,  seems  deserving  of  notice  in  this 
place.  It  was  communicated  by  the  American  Mission 
in  that  country. 

"  The  king  of  Siam  despatched  one  of  his  ships  to 
Ceylon  about  the  close  of  last  year,  to  carry  back  some 
Ceylonese  Boodhists  whom  he  had  invited  to  Siam,  two 
or  three  years  before,  and  also  to  send  a  fresh  ecclesiastical 
embassy  to  that  island — regarded  by  all  Boodhists  as  very 
sacred-»-to  make  further  religious  researches  in  the  primi- 
tive nursery  of  their  faith.  That  embassy  fulfilled  its 
mission,  and  returned  to  Siam  in  June,  bringing  a  letter 
to  his  Majesty  from  a  high  priest  of  Boodh  in  Ceylon, 
written  in  English,  and  stating  in  substance,  that  the  reli- 
gion of  Boodh  had  become  almost  extinct  in  Ceylon,  chiefly 
through  the  influence  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the 
schools  and  seminaries  of  the  missionaries  and  English 
residents  in  that  part  of  the  world  ;  and  that,  if  some  aid 
from  abroad  could  not  be  obtained  to  prop  up  crumbling 
Boodhism  in  that  island,  it  must  soon  become  utterly  ex- 


118 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 


tinct.  The  writer  expressed  much  pain  at  the  thought, 
that  the  very  birth  place  of  his  rehgion  should  not  have 
some  permanent  witness  of  it ;  and  requested  that  his 
Majesty,  in  his  pious  zeal  for  Boodhism,  would  send  him 
funds,  with  which  he  might  build  a  Wat  (Religious  house) 
and  support  priests  in  honor  of  his  god.  He  suggested 
that  this  would  be  a  noble  work  for  a  great  king,  and  one 
that  would  confer  upon  him  the  highest  honors  of  Bood- 
hism."* 


COCHIN-CHINA,  CHINA,  MANCHURIA,  COREA, 
AND  JAPAN. 

Cochin-China.  M.  Hedde  has  published  a  few  notices 
of  a  visit  to  Turon  in  Annam  in  1844,  on  his  passage  from 
Singapore  to  Macao.*  He  represents  the  country  as 
altogether  in  a  wretched,  declining  condition,  misgoverned 
and  beggared  by  despotic  officers,  presenting  a  painful 


»  Missionary  Herald,  Vol.  XLV.  p.  47. 

The  following  list  embraces  the  recent  works  on  India. 

Travels  in  the  Kashmir  and  the  Punjab  ;  containing  a  particular  account  of  the 
Sikhs.  From  the  German  of  Baron  Hugel,  with  notes  by  Major  Jervis,  royal 
8vo.     London,  1846. 

The  Punjaub  ;  being  a  brief  account  of  the  country  of  the  Sikhs,  its  extent, 
history,  commerce,  productions,  religion,  &c.,  to  the  recent  campaign  of  the 
Sutelege.     By  Lt.  Col.  Steinbach,  post,  8vo.     London,  1846. 

A  Peep  into  Turkistan  ;  by  Capt.  R.  Burslem,  8vo.     London,  1846. 

Travels  in  the  Punjab,  AfTghanistan  and  Turkistan,  to  Balk,  Bokhara  and  He- 
rat, by  Mohan  Lai,  8vo.     London,  1846. 

History  of  the  Punjab,  and  of  the  rise,  progress  and  present  condition  of  the 
Sikhs,  2  vols,  post,  8vo.     London,  1846. 

The  history  of  the  Sikhs,  with  a  personal  narrative  of  the  war  between  the 
British  and  the  Sikhs.     By  W.  L.  McGregor,  2  vols.  8vo.     London,  1847. 

The  Sikhs  and  Affghans,  immediately  before  and  after  the  death  of  Runjeet 
Singh.     By  Shahamat  Ali,  post,  8vo.     London,  1847. 

The  Hindoo  Castes  ;  or  history,  manners  and  customs  of  the  42  castes  or  sects 
of  the  Brahmins  of  British  India,  with  highly  colored  plates  :  By  E.  A.  Rodri- 
guez, 24  numbers. 

*  Chinese  Repository.     Vol.  XV.     p.   113. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  119 

contrast  in  its  general  prosperity  with  the  Chinese  empire. 
The  present  monarch  is  named  Thieufri  (or  Yuen-f'uh- 
siuen  in  Chinese)  and  succeeded  his  father  Ming-ming  or 
Minh-menh  in  1841,  but  no  improvement  in  the  domestic 
or  foreign  administiation  of  the  government  has  taken 
place.  Several. Cochin-Chinese  youth  have  been  educated 
at  Singapore,  and  the  king  purchased  two  steamers 
several  years  ago  from  the  Dutch,  but  the  natives  proba- 
bly were  too  little  acquainted  with  the  machinery  and 
motive  power  to  make  the  least  use  of  them,  as  nothing 
has  since  been  heard  of  them.  The  country  is  highly 
favored  by  its  natural  advantages  and  navigable  rivers 
for  maintaining  a  large  population,  but  oppression  on  the 
part  of  the  rulers  and  ignorance  among  the  people,  vitiate 
the  sources  of  national  prosperity.  The  port  of  Turon 
alone,  is  open  in  Annam  for  foreign  trade,  but  no  Ameri- 
can vessels  have  been  there  for  a  cargo  since  Lieut. 
White's  unsuccessful  voyage  in  the  Franklin  in  1804. 
Capt.  Percival  of  the  U.  S.  ship  Constitution  anchored 
there  in  May,  1845,  but  no  official  account  of  his  visit 
has  been  published,  which  if  the  rumors  of  his  firing  upon 
the  town  are  true,  is  not  strange.  The  Peacock  and 
Enterprize  also  anchored  there  in  1836,  but  Mr.  Roberts, 
the  American  diplomatic  agent,  was  too  ill  to  have  any 
communications  with  the  authorities. 

China.  The  late  war  l^etween  England. and  Cliina 
has  directed  the  attention  of  other  nations  towards  that 
empire  in  an  unusual  degree.  Except  the  immediate 
details  of  the  contest  and  the  personal  incidents  connected 
with  it,  however,  the  works  of  those  officers  who  have 
written  upon  that  war,  have  not  contained  so  much  infor- 
mation as  was  expected  by  some,  but  quite  as  much  as 
could  be  collected  under  the  circumstances.  The  war 
was  almost  wholly  a  maritime  one,  confined  to  attacks 
upon  cities  and  forts  upon  the  C9ast  and  rivers,  by  both 
the  army  and  navy,  and  few  or  none  of  the  officers  were 
acquainted  with  the  language  of  the  people,  so  that  little 


120  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

information  could  be  obtained  from  those  natives  whom 
suspicion  or  terror  did  not  drive  away.  The  region 
around  Ningpo,  Chusan  and  the  mouth  of  the  Yangtsz 
kiang,  has  been  described  with  more  minuteness  than 
any  other  part  of  the  maritime  provinces  ;  and  the  careful 
survey  of  the  coast  from  Amoy  to  Shanghai,  with  the 
Chusan  and  Pescadore  archipelagoes  by  Captains  Collin- 
son,  and  Kellet  and  others,  has  left  little  to  be  done  for 
the  navigator's  benefit,  in  making  known  the  hydrography 
of  this  part  of  China.  The  general  topography  of  China 
is,  however,  but  little  better  known  now  than  it  was  at 
the  close  of  the  general  survey  of  the  Jesuits  in  1714,  and 
their  maps  form  the  basis  of  the  best  extant. 

The  embassy  sent  by  the  French  government  in  ]  844, 
under  M.  Th.  de  Lagrene,  to  form  a  commercial  treaty 
with  China,  was  furnished  on  a  most  liberal  scale  with 
everything  necessary  to  make  the  greatest  improvement 
of  the  opportunities  offered  to  examine  into  the  mechanical 
arts  and  productions  of  the  land.  Four  gentlemen  were 
attached  to  the  ambassador's  suite,  to  make  inquiries  into 
the  various  agricultural  and  mechanical  arts  of  the  Chi- 
nese, one  of  whom,  M.  Isidore  Hedde,  was  especially 
designated  to  investigate  everything  relating  to  the  growth 
and  preparation  of  silk.  In  pursuance  of  this  object,  he 
visited  the  city  of  Tuchan  fu,  which  lies  a  few  miles 
northwest  of  Shanghai,  and  is  the  capital  of  the  province 
of  Kiangsu.  This  place  is  probably  the  second  or  third 
city  in  the  empire,  Canton  or  Hangchau  fu  being  the 
only  ones  which  can  compete  with  it  for  wealth  and 
beautifiil  manufactures.  It  lies  in  a  highly  cultivated 
region,  and  is  connected  with  Peking  and  other  large 
places,  through  the  Grand  canal  and  the  Yangtsz  kiang. 
M.  Hedde  went  in  a  Chinese  dress,  and  succeeded  in 
visiting  the  principal  buildings  in  the  city,  such  as  the 
provincial  mint,  the  hall  of  examination,  an  establishment 
for  the  education  of  unhappy  females  destined  for  sale  for 
the  amusement  of  the  opulent,  and  some  manufactories* 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  121 

The  suburbs  of  Sucliau,  as  is  the  case  with  most  Chinese 
cities,  exceed  that  part  within  the  walls,  and  here  he 
found  most  of  the  craftsmen  in  iron,  ivory,  gold,  silver, 
wood,  bone,  horn,  glass,  earth,  paper,  cotton  and  silk. 
His  errand  being  chiefly  to  examine  the  silken  fabrics, 
he  noticed  whatever  was  peculiar  in  spinning,  dyeing  and 
weaving,  in  the  shops  he  entered.  The  Chinese  have  no 
such  immense  establishments  as  are  found  in  this  countiy, 
where  large  buildings  accommodate  an  immense  quantity 
of  machinery  and  numerous  workmen,  but  all  their  pro- 
ducts are  made  by  manual  labor  in  small  establishments. 
M.  Hedde  was  struck  with  the  immense  population  of  the 
city  and  its  environs,  including  a  floating  suburb  of  great 
extent,  the  whole  comprising  a  population  of  not  far  from 
two  millions.  The  Chinese  census  gives  an  average  of 
over  nine  hundred  souls  to  a  square  mile  in  the  province 
of  Kiangsu,  and  eveiy  opportunity  which  has  been  offered 
for  examining  it,  has  added  new  evidence  to  the  truth  of 
this  statement,  though  closer  investigation  and  further 
travel  is  necessary  before  we  can  give  implicit  reliance 
to  the  assertions  made  on  this  subject. 

Two  English  missionaries  have  lately  gone  long  journeys 
into  the  interior,  but  as  Protestants  have  no  coadjutors 
among  the  people  away  from  the  ports,  who  would  be 
willing  to  receive  and  conceal  them ;  and  as  their  system 
of  operations  aims  rather  to  impart  a  true  knowledge 
of  Christianity  than  to  make  many  converts  to  a  form  of 
worship,  these  excursions  have  not  been  frecjuently  made. 
One  of  the  two  here  referred  to,  was  across  the  country 
from  Ningpo  to  Canton,  by  the  same  route  Lord  Macart- 
ney came,  and  the  other  was  up  the  Yangtsz  kiang. 
Two  American  missionaries  visited  the  large  city  of 
Changchau  fu  near  Amoy  m  1844,  where  they  were 
received  with  civility  though  not  with  kindness. 

Mr.  Robert  Fortune,  sent  out  to  China  by  the  Horticul- 
tural Society,  has   lately  returned  to  England,  with    new 
plants  of  great  beauty,  and  a  large  collection  of  botanical 
11 


122  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

and  ornithological  specimens,  among  which  are  doubtiesSP 
many  not  heretofore  described.  Mr.  Fortune  visited  all 
the  ports,  and  made  excursions  in  their  neighborhoods, 
and  his  reception  among  the  people  was  generally  kind. 
The  people  in  the  cities  of  Ningpo  and  Shanghai,  and 
their  vicinities,  compare  favorably  for  their  kindness  and 
general  courtesy,  with  the  coarse  mannered  natives  of 
Canton. 

The  opening  of  this  great  empire  to  the  commercial 
enterprise  of  western  nations,  has  given  rise  to  anticipa- 
tions of  an  extensive  trade,  and  the  importation  of  cotton 
and  woolen  fabrics  during  the  last  few  years  has  been 
increasing ;  and  if  it  was  not  for  the  abominable  traffic 
in  opium^  which  is  both  impoverishing  and  destroying 
the  Chinese,  there  would  be  every  reason  for  believing 
the  commerce  with  China  would  soon  be  one  of  the  lar- 
gest branches  of  trade.  The  principal  articles  in  which 
it  is  most  likely  to  increase  are  tea  and  silk,  but  there  is  a 
great  assortment  of  other  productions,  which  can  betaken 
in  exchange  for  the  cloths,  metals  and  wares  of  the  west. 
Mr.  Montgomery  Martin  for  a  short  time  colonial  treasu- 
rer of  Hongkong,  has  collected  all  the  statistics  bearing 
on  this  subject  in  his  work,  which  will  aid  in  forming  an 
opinion  on  this  point.  Commercially,  politically  and 
religiously,  the  Chinese  empire  now  presents  a  most 
interesting  spectacle,  and  the  experiment  of  regenerating 
it  and  introducing  it  into  the  family  of  nations,  without 
completely  disorganizing  its  present  form  of  government 
and  society,  will  constantly  go  on  and  attract  still  more 
and  more  the  notice  of  Christendom.  The  probabilities 
at  present  are  in  favor  of  a  successful  issue,  but  it  is 
impossible  to  contemplate  the  desolating  effects  of  the  use 
of  opium,  brought  to  the  people  in  such  quantities,  without 
great  apprehension  as  to  the  result.  The  lava  like  progress 
of  the  power  of  Great  Britain  in  Asia,  has  just  commenced 
on  the  borders  of  China,  and  when  the  country  is  drained 
of  specie  in  payment  for  this  drug,  there  is  reason  to  fear 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  123 

that  the  native  government  will  be  unable  to  carry  on  its 
operations  and  maintain  its  authority. 

CoREA.  Since  the  extermination  of  the  Catholic  priests 
from  Corea  in  1839,  the  most  rigid  measures  have  been 
adopted  to  exclude  all  foreigners  ;  in  fact,  the  determina- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  government  of  Corea  to  pre- 
vent all  intercourse  between  its  people  and  those  of 
other  countries  seems  to  have  been  adopted  from  its 
neighbor  of  Japan.  These  measures  are  even  extended 
to  the  Chinese,  against  whom  a  strong  natural  antipnthy 
exists,  growing  out  of  the  persecutions  formerly  inflicted 
on  the  Coreans  by  them.  Accurate  descriptions  of  Euro- 
peans are  kept  at  the  various  posts  on  the  frontier,  and 
from  their  well  known  characteristics  thej'-  are  easily 
distinguished.  The  Coreans  themselves  on  leaving  their 
country  for  China  for  purposes  of  trade,  receive  a  passport, 
which  on  returning  must  be  given  back  or  they  are  not 
permitted  to  enter.  Many  Christians  still  remain  in  Corea, 
and  though  they  are  subject  to  persecution,  the  minds 
of  the  people  are  well  disposed  towards  the  Christian 
religion.  The  literary  class  hold  it  in  the  highest  estima- 
tion, and  seem  only  to  be  waiting  for  the  moment  when 
they  will  be  free  to  declare  in  its  favor.* 

Farther  accounts  from  this  country  have  lately  appear- 
ed in  the  Annals  of  the  Propaganda  Society,!  in  a  letter 
from  Keemay  Kim  a  native  of  Corea,  and  a  Christian, 
who  had  just  completed  his  studies  at  Macao  in  China. 
He  was  sent  on  a  mission  to  the  Christians  in  Corea,  but 
owing  to  the  vigilance  observed  on  the  frontiers  of  that 
country,  was  unable  to  enter  it.  Determined  to  persevere 
in  the  attempt,  he  posted  on  to  Hoong-tchoong,  a  small 
frontier  town  near  the  mouth  of  a  river  which  separates 
Corea  from  Manchuria,  where  he  waited  until  the  period 
arrived  when  the  great  fair  was  to  take  place  at  Kee-eu- 
Wen,   the  nearest  town  in    Corea,   four  leagues   distant. 


«  Annals  of  the  Propaganda  for  1846.  p.  55.  tibij.  July,  184G. 


124  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

"  They  suppty  the  Coreans  with  dogs,  cats,  pipes,  leather, 
stag's  horns,  copper,  horses,  mules  and  asses  ;  and  receive 
in  exchange,  baskets,  kitchen  utensils,  rice,  com,  swine, 
paper,  mats,  oxen,  furs  and  small  horses."  A  few  officers 
are  permitted  to  trade  every  year,  but  they  are  closely 
guarded.  All  others  who  pass  the  frontier  are  made 
slaves  or  massacred  at  once.  Our  traveller  here  met  a 
few  Corean  Christians  in  the  immense  crowd  which  had 
come  to  traffic,  and  whom  he  recognised  by  a  badge  pre- 
viously agreed  upon;  but  so  great  was  the  confusion  and 
hurry  on  the  occasion,  added  to  the  fear  of  being  recog- 
nized, that  the  interview  does  not  seem  to  have  been 
productive  of  good,  or  increased  our  information  of  the 
people  or  country.  Since  the  great  persecution  a  few 
years  since,  the  church  had  been  at  rest ;  and  though  a  few 
converts  had  been  made,  the  faithful  had  retired  to  the 
southern  provinces  for  better  security.  They  still  enter- 
tained the  idea  of  introducing  a  European  missionary 
through  the  north,  though  with  the  knowledge  that  if 
discovered  by  the  authorities,  instant  death  would  follow. 
Such  is  the  zeal  and  perseverance  with  which  these  men 
pursue  their  philanthropic  and  Christian  labors. 

The  fair  to  which  allusion  has  been  made,  is  thus 
described  by  our  Corean.  The  traders  cannot  begin 
their  operations  until  a  signal  is  given,  by  hoisting  a  flag 
and  beating  the  gong,  "when  the  immense  and  densely 
packed  crowd  rush  to  the  market  place ;  Coreans,  Chi- 
nese, and  Manchus,  are  all  mingled  together.  Each 
speaks  in  his  own  tongue,  and  so  great  is  the  uproar 
produced  by  this  mass  of  people,  that  the  echoes  of  the 
neighboring  mountains  repeat  their  discordant  shouts." 

"Four  or  five  hours  is  the  whole  time  allowed  for  buy- 
ing and  selling  ;  consequently,  the  tumult  which  takes 
place,  the  quarrels  which  arise,  the  blows  which  are 
exchanged,  and  the  plundering  which  goes  on,  give  the 
place  more  the  look  of  a  city  taken  by  storm  and  given 
up  to  pillage,  than  that  of  a  fair."     At  evening,  when  the 


THE    I'ROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY.  125 

signal  is  given,  the  strangers  are  driven  out  by  the  soldiers 
with  the  points  of  their  lances. 

Manchuria.  The  vast  regions  of  Manchuria,  lying 
north  of  Corea  to  the  Hing-an  or  Yablonoi  mountains,  and 
east  of  the  Sialkoi  to  the  ocean,  are  inhabited  by  various 
tribes  speaking  different  dialects  and  subsisting  princi- 
pally by  hunting  and  fishing.  The  Manchus  are  now  the 
dominant  race,  but  some  of  the  tribes  near  the  sea  and  in 
Taraka  island,  bear  no  tributary  relations  to  them,  if  indeed 
they  are  much  acquainted.  Since  the  conquest  of  China, 
the  Manchus  have  gone  on  steadily  improving  this  part  of 
their  possessions  by  stationing  agricultural  troops  at  the 
principal  ports  of  observation,  and  collecting  the  hunters 
around  these  points  as  much  as  possible.  Criminals  are 
also  constantly  banished  there,  who  cany  with  them  their 
arts,  and  by  their  industry  both  maintain  themselves  and 
set  an  example  to  the  nomads.  The  southern  part  called 
Shingking,  has  become  well  cultivated  in  many  parts, 
and  considerable  trade  is  carried  on  at  Kinchau  with 
other  parts  of  China. 

Manchuria  produces  pulse,  maize,  (Indian  corn),  millet, 
barley  and  buckwheat;  pulse,  drugs  and  cattle,  form  the 
leading  articles  of  trade.  The  climate  of  this  country  is 
so  inhospitable,  as  to  prove  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  way 
of  its  settlement  and  cultivation. 

The  Manchus  have  no  national  literature  ;  all  the  books 
written  in  their  language  are  translations  of  Chinese 
works,  made  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Academies 
at  Moukden  and  Peking.  Their  written  characters  are 
derived  from  the  Mongols,  but  have  undergone  many 
changes.  The  emperors  have  taken  great  pains  to  ele- 
vate their  countrymen  by  providing  them  with  the  best 
books  in  Chinese  literature,  and  compelling  them  to  go 
through  the  same  examinations  before  they  can  attain  any 
office;  but  the  numerical  superiority  of  the  Chinese  and 
their  active  habits,  give  them  so  much  the  advantage, 
that  except  in  their  own  country,  the  Manchus  find  it 
11* 


126  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

difficult  to  preserve    their  native  tongue  to  the   second 
generation. 

Mongolia.     The  last  volume  of  the  Annals  of  the  Pro- 
paganda  Society  contains   an  interesting  narrative  of  a 
journey  into  Mongolia,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hue.     This  vast 
country,  covering  a  million  of  square   miles,   consists  of 
barren  deserts  and  boundless  steppes.     In  the  limits  allot- 
ted  each   corps,   there  is  seldom   more  than   one  town, 
where  the  chief  resides.     The  people  live  in  tents,  without 
any  permanent  residence.     They    move    from   place  to 
place,  with  the  changes  of  the  seasons,  or  when  their  im- 
mense herds  of  oxen,  camels  and  horses  have  exhausted 
the  grass  around  their  encampment.     To-day  presents  an 
animated  scene  of  hundreds  of  tents,  filled  with  an  active 
population ;  the  children  playing  as  happy  and  contented 
as  though  surrounded  with  every  luxury  a  civilized  life 
affords  ;  the  women  cooking  their  food  and  drawing  water 
from  a  well  just  dug ;  and  the   men,  mounted  on  horse- 
back, are  galloping  over  the  plain,  keeping  their  countless 
herds  from  straying  away.     To-morrow,  this  picturesque 
and  animated  scene  will  be  changed  to  a  dreary  and  for- 
bidding desert.     Men,  flocks,  and  tents  have  vanished,  and 
nought  remains  to  mark  the  visit  of  this  wandering  race, 
but  the  curling  smoke  of  their   unquenched  fires,  or  the 
birds  of  prey  hovering  over  the  carcase  of  some  dying 
camel,  or  feeding  on  the  remains  of  their  late  repast.  The 
Mongols  are  irreclaimable  nomads,  though  some  tribes  of 
them,  as  the  Tsakhars,  Ortous,  and  Solous,  cultivate  the 
soil.     The  four  khanates  of  the  Kalkas  are  called  Outer 
Mongolia,  and  comprise  within  their  borders,  several  well 
built  towns,  though  none  of  any  size,  compared  with  the 
cities  in  China.     Few  Chinese  have   settled  among  the 
Mongols,  except  near  the  Great  Wall,  nor  will  they  allow 
them  to  do  so,  as  there  is  a  deep  antipathy  between  the 
two  races.     The  Mongols  of  the  present  day  have  proba- 

*  Annals  of  the  Propoganda  for  September,  1845. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  127 

bly  made  no  advances  in  civilization  over  their  ancestors 
in  the  days  of  Gengliis  and  Kublai. 

The  approaches  of  the  British  power  up  the  valley  of 
the  Sutlej,  into  the  regions  lying  along  the  base  of  the 
western  Himalayas,  are  such  that  they  will  ere  long  come 
in  contact  with  Tibet  through  Ladak,  and  with  Yarkand 
through  Badakshan.  But  there  is  probably  more  geo- 
graphical than  ethnological  information  to  be  gained  by 
traversing  these  elevated  regions,  where  stupendous  moun- 
tains and  arid  deserts  offer  nothing  to  tempt  man  from  the 
fertile  plains  of  India  and  China.  Two  Romish  mission- 
aries have  lately  arrived  in  Canton  from  H'lassa  in  Tibet, 
by  the  overland  route  through  Patang  in  Sz'chuen  to  the 
capital  of  Kwangsi,  and  thence  to  Canton.  This  route 
has  never  been  described  by  any  traveller. 

Lewohew  Islands.  This  group  of  islands,  including 
the  Madjico  sima,  lying  between  it  and  Formosa,  form  a 
dependency  of  the  principality  of  Satzuma,  in  the  south- 
west of  Japan,  though  the  rulers  are  allowed  a  limited 
intercourse  with  China  through  Fuhchau  fu.  During  the 
late  war  between  England  and  China,  the  transport  Indian 
Oak  was  lost  on  Lewchew,*  August  14,  1840,  and  the 
crew  were  treated  with  great  kindness,  and  provided  with 
a  vessel,  in  which  they  returned  to  Chusan.  Every  effort 
was  made  by  the  authorities  to  prevent  the  officers  and 
men  from  examining  the  island,  but  their  kindness  to  the 
unfortunate  people  thus  cast  on  their  shores,  made  such 
an  impression,  that  a  mission  to  the  islanders  was  deter- 
mined upon  in  London,  by  some  naval  gentlemen  con- 
nected with  the  expedition,  and  a  society  formed.  The 
Rev.  B.  J.  Bettelheim  was  appointed  to  the  post,  and  had 
reached  Canton  in  March,  ]846.  He  afterwards  proceded 
on  his  voyage,  and  his  journal  received  at  Hongkong, 
from  Napa,  contains  a  few  details  of  interest,  but  shows 
plainly  that  the  authorities  are  decided  in  refusing  to 
allow  foreigners  to  settle  in  their  territories. 

•Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  xii.  p.  78. 


128  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

An  attempt  has  been  made  by  the  Romish  missionaries 
to  estabHsh  a  mission  in  this  group.*  The  Rev.  W.  For- 
cade  and  an  associate  were  left  on  Lewchew  in  May, 
1844,  and  after  a  residence  of  fifteen  months  were  able 
to  transmit  some  notices  of  their  treatment  to  the  directors, 
through  Sir  Edwani  Belcher,  R.  N.  who  stopped  at  Napa 
in  August,  1845.  On  their  arrival,  M.  Forcade  and  his 
companion  were  conducted  to  their  dwelling,  where  they 
were  surrounded  by  a  numerous  guard  under  the  control 
of  officers,  and  attended  by  domestics,  as  they  were  told, 
*'  to  charm  their  leisure  moments."  Their  table  was 
bountifully  supplied,  and  everything  they  could  ask  to 
make  them  comfortable  was  granted  them,  except  their 
liberty.  Whenever  they  went  abroad,  they  were  accom- 
panied by  a  guard,  but  allowed  to  hold  no  intercourse 
with  the  natives  ;  they  had  not  been  able  ta  proceed  be- 
yond twelve  miles  into  the  interior,  but  as  far  as  they  had 
opportunities  of  conversing  with  the  natives,  found  them 
simple  and  courteous  in  their  manners,  atid  disposed  to 
talk  when  not  under  surveillance.  It  is  probable,  however, 
that  under  such  restraint  as  these  gentlemen  were  placed, 
it  is  not  likely  that  they  had  attained  to  such  fluency  in 
the  language  as  to  be  able  to  hold  very  ready  communi- 
cation with  natives  met  in  this  hasty  manner.  The  inten- 
tions of  the  government  were  plain,  however,  not  to  allow 
them  to  disseminate  their  doctrines,  (if  it  had  learned 
their  real  object,)  nor,  by  intercourse  with  the  people, 
become  acquainted  with  their  character,  or  the  state  of 
the  country.  No  assistance  was  granted  them  in  learning 
the  language,  and  they  were  forbidden  to  adopt  the  native 
costume.  Notwithstanding  this  opposition,  they  had  been 
able  to  acquire  a  partial  knowledge  of  the  language,  and 
to  compile  a  vocabulary  of  six  thousand  words.  Permission 
to  preach  the  Christian  rehgion  was  not  granted  them,  lest, 
as  the  authorities  said,   the  Chinese,   to  whom  they  are 

•  Annals  de  la  Propagation  de  la  Foi,  July,  1846 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOOY.  129 

tributary,  would  break  off  all  intercourse ;  but  the  real 
reason  was  doubtless  their  fear  of  the  Japanese.  Yet 
these  obstacles  did  not  dishearten  them,  and  they  seem 
determined  to  persevere  in  their  attempts,  though  it  is  not 
unlikely  that  when  Mr.  Bettelheim  arrives,  the  authorities 
will  take  measures  for  deporting  them  all. 

The  Lewchewans  are  intimately  connected  with  the 
Japanese.  The  language  is  the  same,  with  unimportant 
dialectical  variations,  and  Chinese  letters  and  literature 
are  in  like  manner  cultivated  by  both.  In  personal  ap- 
pearance, however,  the  two  people  are  very  unlike.  The 
Lewchewans  are  not  on  an  average  over  five  feet  four 
inches  high,  slightly  built,  and  approach  the  Malayan  cast 
of  features  more  than  the  Chinese.  They  are  darker  than 
the  Chinese,  and  their  mild  traits  of  character,  unwarlike 
habits,  and  general  personal  appearance,  suggests  the 
idea  that  they  are  akin  to  the  aborigines  of  Formosa  and 
Lu9onia  by  descent,  while  their  proximity  and  subjugation 
to  their  powerful  neighbors  on  the  north  and  west,  have 
taught  them  a  higher  civilization,  and  introduced  arts  and 
sciences  unknown  to  their  early  conquerors.  When  Lew- 
chew  was  subjugated  by  the  Japanese,  it  was  agreed  that 
embassies  with  tribute  might  be  sent  to  Peking,  and  ac- 
cording to  the  Chinese  account,  they  come  to  that  court 
twice  in  three  years.*  The  secretary  or  deputy  embas- 
sador in  1841,  was  drowned  in  his  passage  from  Peking 
to  Fuhchau.  This  embassy  is  a  source  of  considerable 
profit  to  the  Lewchewans,  for  their  junks,  which  are  built 
on  the  Chinese  model,  have  free  entrance  to  Fuhchau, 
and  all  the  goods  they  import  and  export,  are  passed 
without  duty.  The  travelling  expenses  of  the  embassy 
to  and  from  the  capital  are  also  defrayed,  and  permission 
is  given  them  to  study  Chinese  when  in  the  country. 
This  intercourse  is  therefore  both  honorable  and  profitable 
to  the  Lewchewans,  but  the  Chinese  are  not  allowed  to 

*  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  xiv.  p.  155. 


130 


THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY. 


trade  there,  and  the  only  act  of  sovereignty  the  emperor 
exercises,  according  to  M.  Forcade,  is  to  send  a  delegate 
to  sanction  the  accession  of  a  new  incumbent  of  the 
throne — whom,  however,  it  would  be  ridiculous  for  him 
to  refuse.  He  adds,  "  In  conversation,  if  one  is  a  stran-' 
ger,  the  Lewchewans  will  be  continually  dwelling  on 
China,  they  will  boast  about  it,  they  will  relate  its  history, 
they  will  describe  its  provinces  and  its  cities ;  but  Japan 
is  never  mentioned  !  Such  are  the  words,  but  the  facts 
are  quite  another  thing." 

The  real  character  of  the  connection  between  Lew- 
chew  and  Japan  is  not  well  ascertained.  No  Japanese 
officers  are  seen  on  landing,  and  the  officers  appointed  to 
attend  the  people  of  the  Indian  Oak,  exhibited  the  great- 
est alarm  when  a  few  were  seen  at  a  distance,  while  the 
party  were  taking  a  walk.  The  trade  between  the  two 
countries  is  confined  to  the  ports  of  Napa  and  Ka- 
gosima,  between  which  the  vessels  of  both  nations  pass  ; 
the  junks  from  other  parts  of  Japan  are  not  permitted  to 
resort  to  Napa,  but  it  is  not  probable  that  the  prince  of 
Satzuma  has  the  right  of  appointing  the  residents,  or  what- 
ever authorities  are  sent  thither.  M.  Forcade  says  there 
were  from  ten  to  fifteen  Japanese  vessels  in  the  port,  but 
when  the  American  ship  Morrison  was  there,  in  1837, 
there  were  only  five.  Lacke red-ware,  grass  cloth,  sugar, 
and  earthen-ware,  are  exported  to  Kagosima,  and  a  great 
assortment  of  metallic  articles,  cloths,  provisions,  and 
stationery  taken  in  exchange.  The  country  in  the  vicinity 
of  Napa,  and  towards  Shudi,  the  capital,  is  highly  culti- 
vated, and  the  people  appear  to  be  as  well  clothed,  and 
possess  as  many  of  the  comforts  and  elegancies  of  life  as 
their  neighbors.  They  still  retain,  enough  of  their  own 
customs,  however,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  Japanese, 
even  if  their  physical  appearance  did  not  point  them  out 
as  distinct.  M.  Forcade  says  that  there  is  reason  for  sup- 
posing Christianity  to  have  been  implanted  in  Lewchew 
at  the  same  time  it  was  introduced  into  Japan,  but  Lew- 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  131 

chew  at  that  time  seems  to  have  been  much  less  depend- 
ant upon  Japan  than  subsequently  ;  and  it  is  not  probable 
that  much  was  done  to  proselyte  its  inhabitants.  He 
mentions  that  a  cr6ss  is  cut  on  the  end  of  the  rampart 
where  foreigners  land,  who  are  thus  obliged  to  trample 
on  this  symbol ;  but  no  other  visitors  mention  any  such 
sculpture  or  custom.  The  landing  place  at  Napa  is  a 
long  stone  jetty,  stretching  across  the  beach,  which  at  low 
tide,  prevents  boats  approaching  the  shore. 


JAPAN. 

This  country  has  recently  attracted  increased  attention 
on  the  part  of  commercial  nations,  and  several  foreign 
ships  have  lately  appeared  on  the  coasts,  whose  reception 
has  only  shown  the  vigilance  of  the  authorities  in  taking 
every  precaution  neither  to  offend  nor  receive  their  unwel- 
come visitors.  The  Dutch  and  Chinese  are  still  the  only 
nations  allowed  to  trade  with  the  Japanese,  and  the  news 
brought  by  the  latter  people  of  the  troubles  they  have 
lately  gone  through  with  their  foreign  customers,  has 
probably  only  more  strongly  convinced  the  siogoun  and 
his  ministers  of  the  propriety  of  their  seclusive  policy. 
Nor  is  there  much  reason  to  doubt  that  the  Chinese  and 
Japanese  have  avoided  the  fate  of  the  natives  of  Lugonia, 
Java,  and  India,  by  shutting  out  foreigners  from  free 
access  and  intercourse  with  their  people,  and  owing  to 
their  seclusion,  have  remained  independent  to  this  day. 
The  works  of  Siebold  upon  the  natural  history  and  politi- 
cal condition  of  the  country  and  its  inhabitants,  are  now 
slowly  publishing  in  Paris,  but  with  such  luxury  of  exe- 
cution as  to  place  them  beyond  the  reach  of  most  persons 
who  might  be  desirous  to  examine  them.  The  visits  of 
two  American  ships  to  the  bay  of  Yedo,  has  directed  the 
public  eye  again  to  the  empire.  The  first  was  that  of  the 
whaler  Manhattan,  Captain  Cooper,  who  was  led  to  think 


132  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHI^LOGY. 

of  going  into  the  port  by  having  taken  eleven  shipwrecked 
men  off"  a  small  island  near  the  Bonin  islands,  in  April, 
1845,  lying  southeast  of  Nippon.  As  he  was  going 
north,  he  fell  in  with  a  water-logged  junk  from  Nambu, 
laden  with  rice  and  fish,  from  which  he  received  eleven 
more,  and  soon  after  made  the  eastern  coast  in  the  princi- 
pality of  Simosa.  Here  he  landed  two  men,  and  pro- 
ceeding towards  Cape  King,  landed  two  more,  who  made 
their  way  to  Yedo.  Owing  to  north  winds,  he  was  blown 
off  the  coast  twice,  and  when  he  approached  the  estuary 
leading  to  the  capital,  he  was  taken  in  tow  and  carried 
up  to  the  anchorage.  Interpreters  came  off  to  the  vessel, 
who  could  speak  English  sufficiently  well  to  carry  on  an 
imperfect  communication,  who  informed  Captain  Cooper 
that  his  wants  would  be  supplied,  but  none  of  his  company 
allowed  to  land.  A  triple  cordon  of  boats  was  placed 
around  the  ship,  consisting  of  upwards  of  a  thousand 
small  boats,  displaying  numerous  flags,  and  containing  as 
many  armed  men  as  if  the  country  was  in  danger  of  at- 
tack. The  ship  was  visited  by  crowds  of  natives  of  all 
ranks,  who  behaved  with  great  decorum  while  gratifying 
their  curiosity,  but  no  trade  was  allowed.  Many  officers 
of  high  rank  came  on  board  and  examined  the  ship,  and 
took  an  inventory  of  every  article  belonging  to  the  rescued 
seamen,  before  they  were  allowed  to  land.  The  ship  was 
gratuitously  supplied  with  provisions  and  a  few  spars,  to 
the  value  of  about  $500,  but  the  captain  was  again  and 
again  enjoined  not  to  return  there  on  any  account.  When 
he  inquired  what  he  should  do  if  he  again  came  across 
the  siogoun's  subjects  in  like  distress,  and  exposed  to  a 
cruel  death,  he  was  told,  "  leave  them  to  their  fate,  or 
take  them  where  the  Dutch  can  get  them."  The  men 
rescued  from  starvation  and  death,  were,  however,  deeply 
sensible  of  the  kindness  which  had  been  shown  them. 
After  a  stay  of  eight  or  ten  days.  Captain  Cooper  was 
towed  out  of  the  port,  and  down  the  bay  to  the  coast,  and 
the  last  injunction  was  only  a  repetition  of  the  first  order, 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  133 

not  to  come  again.  This  reception,  thougli  it  presents 
no  encouragement  to  hope  for  a  relaxation  of  the  policy, 
deemed  by  the  siogoun  at  once  his  safety  and  his  profit,  is 
less  likely  to  call  for  summary  chastisement  than  the  rude 
repulse  the  American  ship  Morrison  received  in  1S37, 
when  she  entered  the  bay  of  Yedo  on  the  same  errand, 
and  was  driven  away  by  cannon  balls  and  armed  gun- 
boats. 

Captain  Cooper  represents  the  country  in  this  portion 
of  it  as  clothed  with  verdure,  and  under  a  high  state  of 
cultivation.  The  proximity  of  the  mountains  in  Idzu, 
produces  constant  showers,  which  covers  the  highest  peaks 
with  forests  and  shrubbery.  Terrace  cultivation  is  exten- 
sively practiced,  and  constant  labor  is  demanded  to  sup- 
ply subsistence  to  the  dense  population,  who  still  at  times 
suffer  severely  for  want  of  food.  The  capital  could  not 
well  be  seen  from  the  ship,  and  its  enceinte  was  so  filled 
with  trees,  that  its  dimensions  could  not  accurately  be 
defined.  No  towers  or  pagodas  were  seen  elevating  them- 
selves above  the  dull  monotony  of  the  buildings.  The 
harbor  was  covered  with  vessels,  at  anchor  and  moving 
about ;  some  of  them  unwieldy,  open-stern  junks,  designed 
for  the  coast  trade,  others  light  skiffs  and  boats,  used  for 
communicating  with  vessels  in  the  harbor  and  the  shore. 
The  greatest  part  of  the  coasting  trade  centres  at  Yedo, 
owing  to  the  lai^ge  amount  of  taxes  paid  the  siogoun  in 
kind,  and  the  supplies  the  princes  receive  from  their  pos- 
sessions while  they  reside  in  the  capital,  both  of  which 
causes  operate  to  develope  the  maritime  skill  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  increase  the  amount  of  tonnage.  The  short- 
sighted policy  which  confines  the  energies  and  capital  of 
a  seagoing  people  like  the  Japanese,  within  their  own 
shores  is,  however,  less  a  matter  of  wonder  than  tlie  de- 
spotic power  which  could  cmnpfl  thein  to  stay  at  home 
two  centuries  ago,  at  a  tirn;;;  when  their  merchants  and 
agents  were  found  from  Acapnlco  to  Bangkok. 

The  Japanese  empire  presents  the  greatest  feudal  gov 
12 


134  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

ernment  now  existing,  and  on  that  account  is  peculiarly 
interesting  to  the  student  of  political  science.  In  some 
respects,  the  people  are  superior  to  the  Chinese,  but  are 
inferior  ift  the  elements  of  national  wealth  and  progress. 
They  belong  to  the  Mongolian  race,  but  are  darker  than 
the  Chinese,  and  not  as  tall,  though  sviperior  in  stature  to 
the  Lewchewanw  They  approximate  to  the  Kamtschat- 
dales  in  their  square  build,  short  necks,  large  heads,  and 
short  lower  limbs.  They  are  of  a  light  olive  complexion, 
but  seldom  exhibit  a  florid,  ruddy  countenance. 

Among  the  articles  obtained  from  the  junk  by  Captain 
Cooper,  was  a  map  of  Japan,  including  part  of  Yesso. 
It  is  four  feet  square,  drawn  on  the  proportion  of  less  than 
one  degree  to  two  inches,  and  contains  the  names  of  all 
the  places  there  is  room  for.  It  is  cut  on  wood,  and 
painted  to  show  the  outlines  of  the  chief  principalities  : 
the  relative  importance  of  the  places  is  shown  by  writing 
their  names  in  different  shaped  cartouches,  but  from  the 
space  occupied  by  the  Chinese  characters,  there  is  proba- 
blv  not  one-tenth  of  all  the  towns  inserted.  The  distances 
between  the  principal  points  along  the  coast  are  stated,  and 
on  some  of  the  leading  thoroughfares  inland.  The  map 
is  evidently  the  original  of  Krusenstern's  "  Carte  de  Nip- 
pon," published  by  the  Russian  Board  of  Longitude,  and 
is  drawn  up  from  trigonometrical  survej^s.  The  degrees  of 
latitude  bear  the  same  numbers  as  upon  E*uropean  maps  ; 
the  meridians  are  reckoned  from  Yedo.  The  existence  of 
such  maps  among  the  people  indicates  that  a  good 
knowledge  of  their  own  country  is  far  more  extensively 
diffused  than  among  the  Chinese,  whose  common  maps 
are  a  standing  reproach  to  them,  while  they  have  others 
so  much  more  accurate.  The  coast  from  Cape  King 
northward  to  Simosa,  for  the  space  of  two  degrees,  was 
found  by  captain  Cooper  to  be  better  delineated  upon  this 
map  than  upon  his  own  charts.  These  seas  present  a  fine 
field  for  hydrographic  surveys,  and  it  would  greatly  ad- 
vance the  security  of  navigation  on  the  eastern  shores  of 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  1^5 

Asia,  and  redound  to  the  honor  of  our  own  land,  if  the 
American  government  would  despatch  two  small  vessels 
to  survey  the  seas  and  shores  between  Lu^onia  and 
Kamtschatka. 

The  visit  of  Commodore  Biddle  to  the  bay  of  Ycdo,  has 
added  nothing  to  our  knowledge  of  its  shores.  His  polite 
dismissal,  and  the  refusal  of  the  government  to  enterlain 
any  commercial  relations  with  the  Americans,  only  ndd 
force  to  the  injunction  to  captain  Cooper  the  year  before, 
not  to  return,  and  shows  more  strongly  that  while  the  Ja- 
panese rulers  are  determined  to  maintain  their  secluded 
policy,  they  wish  to  give  no  cause  for  retaliatory  measures 
on  the  part  of  their  unwelcome  visitors,  and  mean  to  keep 
themselves  as  well  informed  as  they  can  upon  foreign 
politics.  The  subject  of  foreign  intercourse  between  the 
two  great  nations  of  Eastern  Asia  and  Europeans  since  it 
commenced  three  centuries  since,  is  an  instructive  one ; 
and  the  general  impression  left  upon  the  mind  of  the 
candid  reader,  is  that  foreign  nations  have  themselves 
chiefly  to  thank  for  their  present  seclusion  from  those 
shores,  and  the  restrictions  in  their  commerce.  Rear- 
Admiral  Cecille  has  also  paid  a  visit  to  some  part  of 
Japan,  quite  recently,  but  met  with  no  success  in  his  en- 
deavors to  enter  into  negotiation. 

The  great  object  in  view  in  making  these  attempts  to 
improve  the  intercourse  with  Japan,  is  to  find  new  markets 
for  western  manufactures.  It  is  quite  doubtful,  however, 
whether  the  Japanese  have  many  articles  suitable  for 
foreign  markets.  Their  lackered-ware  is  exceedingly 
beautiful,  but  it  would  not  be  so  prized  when  it  become 
more  common.  Copper  and  tea  would  form  the  basis  of 
exports,  and  perhaps  some  silk  ta.l)rics,  but  China  furnishes 
now  all  that  is  wanted  of  them  both,  and  can  do  so  to  ;iny 
extent.  Until  a  taste  for  such  foreign  manufactures,  as 
woolens,  cutlery,  glass-ware,  calicoes,  &c.,  is  created 
among  them,  and  they  are  willing  to  adapt  their  own  pro- 
ducts to  the  tastes  of  their  customers,  it  docs  not   seem 


136  THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 

likely  that  a  trade  at  all  proportioned  to  the  estimated 
population  and  riches  of  the  country,  would  soon  be  es- 
tablished. The  Japanese  are  afraid  of  the  probable 
results  of  a  more  extended  intercourse,  and  deem  it  to  be 
the  safest  course  to  run  no  risks ;  and  if  they  read  the 
pages  of  their  early  intercourse  with  the  Portuguese, 
Spanish  and  Dutch,  they  must  feel  they  would  run  many 
serious  risks  by  granting  a  trade.  If  the  siogoun  and  his 
advisers  could  be  rightly  informed,  however,  there  are 
grounds  for  believing  the  present  policy  would  be  consid- 
erably relaxed. 

Learning  is  highly  honored  in  Japan,  and  books  are  as 
cheap  and  common  as  in  China.  The  written  language 
is  a  singular  and  most  dijflicult  mixture  of  Chinese  char- 
acters, with  the  syllabic  symbols  adopted  by  the  Japanese, 
rendering  its  perusal  a  great  labor,  more  so  than  that  of 
Chinese,  because  Chinese  must  first  be  mastered.  The 
spoken  language  is  polysyllabic  and  harmonious,  and  pos- 
sesses conjugations,  tenses,  cases,  &c.,  to  facilitate  its 
perspicuity,  and  increase  its  variety  of  expressions.  The 
arts  in  which  they  chiefly  excel  are  in  the  manufacture  of 
silken  and  linen  goods,  copper-ware,  lackered-ware,  por- 
celain and  basket  work.  Their  cutlery  is  despicable,  and 
the  specimens  of  their  carving,  which  are  seen  abroad,  do 
not  equal  those  produced  by  the  Chinese.  Agriculture  is 
pursued  on  much  the  same  system  as  in  China — minute 
subdivision  of  the  soil  and  constant  manuring,  together 
with  frequent  watering.  Rice  and  fish  are  the  staples  of 
food;  vegetables  are  used  in  great  abundance,  but  meats 
only  sparingly.  The  habits  and  sports  of  the  people  are 
influenced  so  much  by  the  peculiar  notions  attending  a 
feudal  society,  such  as  adherence  to  the  local  prince,  and 
maintenance  of  his  honor,  wearing  coats  of  arms,  privi- 
leged orders,  and  hereditary  titles,  that  there  is  little 
similarity  in  the  state  of  society  in  Japan  and  China, 
notwithstanding  a  similar  religion  and  literature.  The 
Japanese  were  called  the  Spaniards  of  the  East  by  Xavier, 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  137 

and  the  comparison  is  good  at  this  day.  They  have, 
perhaps,  more  genius  and  imagination  than  the  Chinese, 
but  are  not  as  peaceable  or  industrious. 

General  view  of  the  languages  of  the  Japanese, 
CoREANS,  Chinese  and  CochIxVCHINese.  The  four  na- 
tions here  briefl}^  noticed  ;  viz.,  the  Japanese,  Coreans,  Clii- 
nese  and  Cochinchinese,  have  been  collectively  called  the 
Chinese  language  nations,  from  the  peculiar  relations  and  con- 
nections they  have  had  through  the  medium  of  that  language. 
The  relation  has  throughout  been  one  of  a  literary 
character,  fostered  to  some  extent  by  religious  prejudices, 
.but  depending  chiefly  for  its  permanence  and  extension 
upon  the  superiority  of  the  writings  of  the  Chinese.  It  is, 
in  some  respects,  without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  man. 
While  European  languages  have  all  been  indebtcui  for 
many  of  their  words  to  the  two  leading  ancient  tongues 
of  that  continent,  their  bases  have  been  diverse,  and  the 
words  they  have  imported  from  Greek  and  Latin  have 
undergone  various  changes,  so  much  so  as  sometimes 
hardly  to  be  recognized.  This  is  not  the  case  with  these 
four  nations  of  eastern  Asia.  They  have  all  adopted  the 
characters  used  by  the  leading  nation  without  alteration, 
and  with  them,  of  course,  have  to  a  very  great  degree, 
taken  her  authors,  her  books,  her  knowledge  and  her 
opinions,  as  their  own. 

One  of  the  most  observable  features  of  the  national 
character  of  the  Chinese,  is  its  conservative  inclinations. 
Not  only  is  it  seen  in  the  actions  of  government  and  in  the 
writings  of  scholars,  but  still  more  in  the  habits  of  the 
people  and  their  modes  of  thinking.  It  has  been  cherished 
by  that  government,  as  it  is  by  all  governments,  as  a  sure 
and  safe  principle  of  preservation,  but  it  is  also  advocated 
by  the  people.  The  geographical  position  of  China  has 
isolated  it  from  all  western  nations,  while  the  poliiica], 
literary  and  social  superiority  of  its  people  over  the  con- 
tiguous nations,  has  combined  to  foster  their  conceit  and 
affectation  of  supremacy,  and  make  them  disinclined  to 
12* 


138 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 


have  any  intimate  or  equal  relations  with  others.  But 
one  of  the  strongest  and  most  comprehensive  of  these 
conservative  influences  has  arisen  from  the  nature  of  the 
language,  strengthened  by  the  extent  to  which  education 
has  been  diffiised  among  the  people.  The  language  is 
of  such  a  character,  combining  mystery  and  difficulty  with 
elegance  and  ingenuity,  as  greatly  to  captivate  a  people 
who  have  time  and  inclination  to  trace  out  the  marks  and 
veins  on  the  pavement  in  the  temple  of  science,  but  not 
the  invention  or  investigation  to  seek  out  and  explore  its 
hidden  chambers.  The  character  of  this  language  and 
the  nature  of  the  connection  between  the  nations  who  use 
it,  may  here  be  briefly  exhilnted. 

The  Chinese  ascribe  the  invention  of  their  characters 
to  Tsang  Kieh,  one  of  the  principal  ministers  or  scholars 
in  the  reign  of  Hwangti,  about  2650  years  before  Christ ; 
and  although  there  is  no  very  certain  information  recorded 
respecting  their  origin,  there  is  nothing  which  seems  to  be 
fabulous  or  supernatural.  The  characters  first  depicted 
were  the  common  objects  in  nature  and  art,  as  the  sun, 
rain,  man,  parts  of  the  body,  animals,  a  house,  &c.,  and 
were  probably  drawn  sufficiently  accurate  to  be  detected 
without  much  if  any  explanation.  They  were  all  described 
in  outline,  and  generally  with  far  less  completeness  than 
the  Egyptian  symbols.  It  is  not  known  how  many  of  the 
primitive  characters  were  made,  but  one  feature  attached 
to  them  all, — none  of  them  contained  any  clue  to  the 
sound.  The  inventors  must  necessarily,  one  would  sup- 
pose, have  soon  perceived  this  radical  defect  in  their 
symbols,  but  they  either  saw  the  incompatibiUty  of  uniting 
the  phonetic  and  pictorial  modes,  or  else  were  so  pleased 
with  their  varied  pictures  and  symbols,  that  they  cared 
very  little  how  the  reader  acquired  the  sounds.  At  first, 
too  perhaps,  the  number  of  persons  who  spoke  this  lan- 
guage was  so  small,  that  there  was  little  difficulty  in 
making  them  all  acquainted  with  the  meaning  of  the 
symbols,  and  when  once  their  meaning  was  learned,  they 


THE    PROGBF.tiS    OF    ETHNOLOfiV.  l.'JD 

were  of  course  called  by  the  name  of  the  thing  represented, 
which  everybody  knew.  The  necessity  of  incorporating 
some  clue  to  the  sound  of  the  thing,  or  i(h';i  denoted, 
became  more  and  more  evident,  however,  as  the  variety 
of  the  symbols  multiplied,  and  the  number  of  j)eople 
increased.  One  of  the  strongest  evidences,  that  the  ch;- 
signing  of  these  symbols  was  contemporary  with  the  (.'arliest 
days  of  the  Chinese  as  a  people,  is  deduced  from  tlie  fact* 
that  they  are  all  monosyllabic  ;  the  radical  words  in  nil 
languages  are  mostly  of  this  character,  but  in  nenrW  all 
others,  the  single  sounds  soon  coalesce  and  combine,  while 
in  Chinese  this  has  been  prevented  by  the  nature  of  the 
written  language.  There  is  not,  so  far  as  the  na.turc  of 
the  case  goes,  any  reason  why  the  sounds  of  Chinese 
characters  should  all  be  monosyllabic,  any  more  than  the 
Arabic  numerals.  But  not  only  was  the  increase  of  inhab- 
itants, as  we  suppose,  a  reason  for  making  the  symbols 
phonetic,  the  need  of  reducing  the  labor  of  learning  the 
ever  growing  list,  and  the  difficulty  of  distinguishing 
between  species  of  the  same  genus  and  things  of  the  same 
sort,  was  a  still  stronger  motive.  This  was  done  by  the 
combination  of  a  leading  type  with  some  other  well 
understood  character,  chosen  quite  arbitrarily,  but  posses- 
sing the  same  sound  as  the  new  object  to  he  represented. 
Thus,  supposing  a  new  fish  called  pz7i  wa.sto  be  represented 
by  a  character;  by  taking  the  symbol  for  ^sh  and  joining 
it  to  any  well  known  character  pronounced  j«7i,  no  matter 
what  was  its  meaning,  the  compound  symbol  clearly 
expressed,  to  those  who  understood  its  elementaiy  parts, 
the  Jish  pih.  But  neither  does  this  compound  contain-any 
more  clue  to  its  sound  to  those  unacquainted  with  the 
component  elements,  than  its  marks  and  hooks  do  of  its 
meaning  to  those  who  have  never  learned  them.  When 
once  the  form  and  meaning  of  the  primitive  symbols  have 
been  learned,  however,  the  meaning  and  sounds  of  the 
compound  ones  can,  in  many  cases,  be  inferred  to  a 
greater  or  less  degree  ;  but  so  varied  has  been  the  prin- 


140  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

ciple  of  combination,  that  no  dependence  can  be  placed 
upon  such  etymologies  for  the  meaning.  In  the  various 
mutations  the  written  language  has  undergone,  the  sound 
is  not  now  so  certain  as  it  was  probably  at  first ;  but  in 
the  majority  of  characters,  it  can  be  inferred  with  a  con- 
siderable degree  of  certainty,  though  the  idea  is  exhibited 
so  indefinitely  as  to  afford  almost  no  assistance  in  guessing 
at  it.  A  dictionary  is  indispensable  in  ascertaining  the 
meaning,  and  almost  as  necessary  to  learn  the  sound  of 
all  Chinese  characters.  The  meaning  can  be  explained 
without  any  greater  trouble  than  in  other  languages,  but 
the  sounds  of  characters  can  only  be  given  by  quoting 
other  characters  of  the  same  sound,  which  the  scholar 
is  supposed  to  know,  if  he  knows  enough  to  use  the 
dictionary. 

These  remarks  will,  perhaps,  explain  the  general  com- 
position of  Chinese  characters.  By  far  the  greater  part 
of  them  are  now  formed,  either  of  the  original  pictorial 
symbols,  greatly  modified,  indeed,  and  changed  from 
their  likeness  to  the  things  they  stand  for,  or  of  those  joined 
to  each  other  in  a  compound  character,  partly  symbolical 
and  partly  phonetic.  The  former  part  is  called  the  radi- 
cal, the  latter  the  'primitive.  The  Chinese  divide  the  cha- 
racters into  six  classes,  viz.,  imitative  symbols,  or  those 
ori2;inal  fissures  which  bore  a  resemblance  to  the  forms  of 
material  objects;  indicative  symbols,  where  the  position 
of  the  two  parts  point  out  the  idea  ;  symbols  combining 
ideas,  a  class  not  very  unlike  the  preceding,  but  more 
complex  ;  inverted  symbols  ;  metaphoric  symbols,  as  that 
of  the  natural  heart,  denoting  the  affections  ;  and  lastly, 
phonetic  symbols.  Out  of  twenty-four  thousand  two 
hundred  and  thirty-five  characters,  (nearly  all  the  diflferent 
ones  there  are  in  the  language,)  twenty-one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  ten  of  them  are  phonetic,  or  as  much  so  as 
the  nature  of  their  composition  would  allow,  though  there 
is  no  other  clue  to  the  sound  than  to  learn  the  sound  of" 
the  parts  or  of  the  whole,  either  from  the  people  them- 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    KTIINOT.OOY.  141 

selves  or  from  a  dictionary.  The  Chinese  tyro  learns  the 
sounds  of  most  of  the  characters,  as  boys  do  the  names 
of  minerals,  by  tradition.  As  he  stnnds  bdorc  his  m;istcr, 
he  and  the  whole  class  hear  from  his  mouth  their 
names,  and  repeat  them  until  they  are  icmembcred. 
Consequently,  almost  an  infinite  variety  in  the  sounds  oi" 
the  characters  arise  from  this  mode  of  learning  them, 
while  the  meanings  remain  fixed ;  though  tliere  still  rema  ins 
enough  resemblance  in  the  sounds  to  show  their  common 
origin,  as,  hien,  meen,  mien,  and  incc'"'^,  all  meaning  the  face, 
and  written  with  the  same  character.  The  local  diflcr- 
ences  in  pronunciation  are  so  great  within  a  few  hun(hed 
miles,  in  some  parts  of  China,  that  the  people  barely 
understand  each  other  when  they  speak  ;  and  even  in  two 
towns  fifty  miles  apart,  the  local  patois  can  be  detected, 
though  the  dissimilarity  is  not  so  great  as  to  prevent  their 
inhabitants  conversing  together.  For  purposes  of  inter- 
course among  civilians,  who  being  from  distant  parts  ol' 
the  empire,  might  otherwise  find  considerable  dilficulty 
in  making  themselves  understood  if  each  spoke  his  own 
local  patois,  there  is  a  court  dialect  which  not  only  civil- 
ians, but  all  educated  men  are  obliged  or  expected  to 
understand.  This  is  the  common  pronunciation  over  the 
northeastern  provinces  of  Chihli,  Shantung,  Nganhwui, 
and  Kiangsu,  and  somewhat  in  the  contiguous  provinces 
also,  though  everyv/here  in  these  regions  with  some  slight 
local  variations.  This  dialect  is  called  kwan  hwa,  and  has 
been  usually  termed  the  mandarin*  dialect,  but  it  is  pro- 
perly the  Chinese  spoken  language,  and  the  variations 
from  it  are  the  dialects  and  patois.     It  is  evident,  how- 

*  It  is  desirable  that  this  word  be  expunged  from  all  works  on  China  and  east- 
ern Asia,  and  the  proper  words  officers,  authorities,  magistrates,  &c.,  be  used 
instead.  Every  officer,  from  a  prime  minister  to  a  constable  or  tide-waiter,  ig 
called  a  mandarin  by  foreigners,  partly  because  those  who  write  do  not  know 
the  ranK  of  the  person,  and  partly  from  the  common  custom  of  calliii-j;  many 
things  in  China  by  some  peculiar  term,  as  if  they  were  unlike  the  same  things 
elsewhere. 


142  THE    PROGRESS    OP    ETFJNGLOGY. 

ever,  that  one  sound  of  a  character  is  no  more  correct 
than  another ;  for  there  being  no  sound  in  any  character, 
each  one  calls  it  as  he  has  been  taught,  while  all  give  it 
the  same  meaning,  exactly  as  Europeans  do  with  the  nu- 
merals. Of  course,  no  one  can  read  or  write  Chinese 
before  he  has  studied  it,  and  the  apparent  singularity  of 
people  from  China,  Japan,  and  Annam  all  being  able  to 
communicate  by  writing  but  not  converse  by  speech,  is 
easily  explained  by  the  different  sounds  they  give  the 
characters.  It  is,  however,  really  no  more  singular  than 
that  scholars  in  all  Christian  nations  understand  each 
others'  music  and  arithmetic,  after  they  have  learned  those 
sciences  and  the  mode  of  notation. 

The  diversity  of  pronunciations  tends  naturally  to  break 
up  the  nation  into  small  communities,  and  the  Chinese 
owe  their  present  homogeneity  and  grandeur  in  no  small 
degree  to  their  written  language ;  for,  however,  a  man 
may  differ  in  his  speech,  he  is  sure  that  he  will  be  every- 
where understood  when  he  writes,  and  will  understand 
every  one  who  writes  to  him.  It  has  also  been  a  bond 
of  union  from  its  extensive  literature,  at  once  the  pride 
of  its  own  scholars,  and  the  admiration  of  surrounding 
nations.  It  is  perhaps  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  literature 
of  China  contains  the  canons  of  the  Budhist  religion 
and  the  ethics  of  Confucius,  that  it  was  adopted  by  the 
Japanese,  Coreans  and  Annamese.  These  nations  have 
taken  the  characters  of  the  Chinese  language,  and  given 
them  such  names  as  pleased  them.  In  Japan  and  Corea, 
there  has  been  no  uniform  rule  of  adoption,  but  the  Annam- 
ese, who  formerly  had  more  intimate  connexions  with 
China  than  at  present,  approach  much  nearer  to  the 
sounds  spoken  by  the  Chinese. 

The  nature  of  the  relations  between  these  three  nations 
and  Cliina,  therefore,  somev/hat  resembles  that  which 
European  nations,  we  may  suppose,  now  would  have 
towards  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  if  they  still  existed  as 
independent  powers,   and    should  be  visited  by  scholars 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY  M3 

from  the  shores  of  the  Baltic,  whose  native  countries, 
however,  had  risen  no  higher  in  civihzation  and  morals 
than  their  source.  The  comparison  is  not  complete  in 
all  respects,  but  near  enough  for  analog}-.  The  Japanese 
have  never  paid  tribute  to  China,  but  have  l)ecn  invaded 
by  her  armies,  and  in  their  turn  have  raviiged  the  eastern 
coasts  of  the  continent.  The  isolated  polic)-  their  rulers 
have  adopted,  has  prevented  our  tracmg  those  pliilologi- 
cal  comparisons  between  their  original  language  and  those 
of  Siberia  or  central  Asia,  which  would  elucidate  its 
origin.  The  Japanese  up  to  the  time  of  the  sixteenth 
da'iri,  named  Ouzin  Tenwo,  had  no  written  character, 
all  the  orders  of  government  being  proclaimed  viva 
voce.  In  the  year  B.  C.  2S4,  this  monarch  sent  an 
embassy  to  the  southern  part  of  Corea,  to  obtain  learn- 
ed persons  who  could  introduce  the  civilization  and 
literature  of  China  into  his  dominions,  and  obtained 
Wonin,  who  fulfilled  th^  royal  wishes  so  satisfactorily, 
that  the  Japanese  have  since  accorded  him  divine 
honors.  Since  his  day,  the  Chinese  characters  have 
been  employed  among  the  Japanese.  However,  as 
the  construction  of  the  Japanese  language  differs  materi- 
ally from  that  of  the-  Chinese,  and  as  the  same  Chinese 
character  has  many  meanings,  whicli  would  be  expressed 
by  different  words  in  the  native  Japanese,  confusion  and 
difficulty  arose  in  the  use  of  the  syrnbolic  characters. 
But  it  was  not  until  the  eightii  century,  that  a  remedy 
was  provided  by  the  invention  of  a  syllabary,  a  middle 
contrivance,  partaking  chiefly  of  the  nature  of  an  alphabet 
but  containing  some  traces  of  hieroglyphics.  The  cha- 
racters of  this  syllabary  were  fbnn(;d  by  taking  Chinese 
characters,  either  in  whole  or  in  ])art,  and  using  them 
phonetically,  but  as  indivisible  syllables.  Conse(|n('ntly, 
every  one  of  them  contained  a  vowel  sound,  iciid<'iing 
the  language  very  euphonous.  The  characters  in  this 
syllabary  were  called  katahnid,  i.  (\  "  ])arls  of  letters." 
There  were  at  first  forty-seven,   but  another  was  added 


144  THE  PROGRESS  OP  ETHNOLOGY. 

some  j^ears  after  in  order  to  express  the  final  n,  as 
mci-mo-ra-n,  instead  of  ma-mo-ra-nu^  making  forty-eight. 
the  present  number.  This  syllabary  and  that  invented 
for  the  Cherokees  by  Guess,  are  the  only  two  in  the 
world.  The  number  of  sounds  has  been  increased 
from  forty-eight,  to  seventy-three,  by  the*  addition  of  diacri- 
tical marks  to  some  of  the  syllables.  This  S3dlabaiy 
enabled  the  Japanese  to  express  the  sounds  of  their 
vernacular  without  difficulty.  But  the  long  use  of  the 
Chinese  had  already  introduced  a  great  number  of  sounds 
from  that  language  into  it,  besides  giving  the  people  a 
likinof  for  the  elesfant  and  ins'enious  combinations  of  that 
unwieldy  medium  of  thought,  so  that  the  scholars  in  the 
country  still  cultivated  the  more  difficult  language,  and 
wrote  their  books  in  it.  The  incorporation  of  Chinese 
sounds  into  the  native  Japanese,  seems  to  have  arisen  from 
the  necessity  of  distinguishing  between  the  various  mean- 
ings of  the  Chinese  character,^  so  that  while  the  native 
word  would  express  one,  the  original  sound  would  express 
another,  but  the  unchangeable  symbol  stand  for  both  to 
the  eye. 

The  admiration  of  the  Chinese  characters,  led  in  time 
to  the  invention  of  a  second  syllabary,  having  the  same 
sounds  but  far  more  difficult  to  learn  from  the  number  of 
characters  in  it  and  their  complicated  forms.  It  is  called 
Idrakana,  or  "  equal  writing,"  because  it  is  intelligible 
without  the  addition  of  Chinese  characters;  it  is  now  the 
common  medium  of  communication,  in  epistolary  compo- 
sition of  all  kinds,  story  books,  and  other  everyday  uses. 
There  are  one  hundred  and  one  characters  in  the  hiraka- 
na,  or  nearly  three  modes  of  writing  each  of  the  forty- 
eight  syllables,  and  they  are  run  together  as  rapidly  and 
far  more  fancifully  than  in  our  own  running-hand,  when 
that  is  compared  with  the  Roman  character.  The  cha- 
racters are  mostly  contractions  of  Chinese  characters  used 
simply  as  phonetic  symbols,  without  any  more  reference 
to  their  meaning  than  in  the  katakana.     The  more  ancient 


THE   PROGRESS    OF    ETFINOLOGY.  145 

of  the  two  is  now  usually  employed  in  dictionaries,  by  the 
side  of  Chinese  characters  in  books  to  explain  them  to 
the  reader,  or  at  their  bottom  to  indicate  the  case  of  the 
word.  In  reading  a  Chinese  book,  a  good  Japanese 
scholar  makes  a  kind  of  running  translation  into  hi,s  own 
vernacular,  sometimes  giving  the  sound,  and  sometimes 
giving  the  sense,  and  the  Tcatakana  is  used  in  the  latter 
case,  to  indicate  the  tense,  or  case  of  the  native  word. 
Having  the  Chinese  language  as  well  as  its  native  stores 
to  draw  from,  the  Japanese  is  both  copious  and  flexible, 
and  by  its  syllabic  construction,  also  euphonious  and  mel- 
lifluous, in  these  respects  being  far  superior  to  the  Chinese. 
The  following  stanza  is  from  one  of  the  Dutch  writers  ; 
it  is  written  with  thirty-one  syllables. 

Kokorodani  makotono, 
Michi  ni  kanai  naba, 
Inorazu  totemo  kamiya 
Mamoran. 

There  are  still  two  other  syllabaries,  one  called  Mam/o- 
kana,  and  the  other  Yamato-kana,  both  of  whicli  are  formed 
of  still  more  complicated  Chinese  characters,  also  used 
phonetically.  Neither  of  these  syllabaries  is  generally 
used  entirely  alone,  but  the  three  are  joined  together  or 
interchanged  somewhat  according  to  the  fancy  of  the 
writer,  in  a  manner  similar  to  Archdeacon  Wrangham's 
famous  echo  poem.  Such  a  complicated  mode  of  writing 
has  this  unfortunate  result,  however,  of  so  seriously  ob- 
structing the  avenues  to  the  temple  of  science,  that  the 
greatest  part  of  the  common  people  are  unable  to  enter, 
and  must  be  content  with  admiring  the  structure  afar  oft". 
Most  of  them  content  themselves  with  learning  to  write 
and  read  in  the  hirakana,  and  get  as  much  knowledge  of 
Chinese  as  will  enable  them  to  read  the  names  of  places, 
signs,  people,  &c.,  for  which  those  characters  are  univer- 
sally used.  Besides  the  phonetic  use  of  Chinese  characters 
13 


146 


THE    PROGRESS    OF    ETHNOLOGY. 


in  these  syllabaries,  they  are  employed  very  extensively 
as  words,  with  their  own  meanings,  partly  because  they 
are  more  nervous  and  expressive  in  the  estimation  of  the 
writer  than  the  vernacular,  and  partly  to  show  his  learning 
and  shorten  his  labor.  Commonly,  characters  so  used  are 
called  by  their  Japanese  meanings,  but  sometimes  too  by 
their  Chinese  names.* 

The  connection  between  the  Chinese  and  Japanese, 
therefore,  is  very  intimate,  and  presents  a  curious  instance 
of  assimilation  between  a  symbolic  and  syllabic  language, 
though  at  the  cost  of  much  hard  study  and  labor  to  acquire 
the  mongrel  compound.  It  is  another  example  of  Asiatic 
toil  upon  the  media  of  thought,  rather  than  investigations 
in  the  world  of  thought  and  science  itself;  for  no  people 
who  possessed  invention,  research,  or  science,  would  ever 
have  encumbered  themselves  with  so  burdensome  a  vehi- 
cle of  communication.  The  Chinese  do  not  attend  to  the 
Japanese  language,  and  have  no  knowledge  of  its  struc- 
ture, or  the  principles  on  which  it  has  combined  with 
their  own.  Their  intercourse  with  Japan  is  entirely 
commercial ;  that  of  the  Japanese  with  them,  chiefly 
literary. 

The  Coreans  have  also  adopted  the  Chinese  character, 
but  without  many  of  the  elaborate  modifications  in  use 
among  the  Japanese.  They  have  had  more  intercourse 
with  the  Chinese,  but  have  not  been  able  to  make  their  poly- 
syllabic words  assimilate  with  the  monosyllables  of  the 
Chinese.  They  have  invented  an  alphabet,  the  letters  of 
which  combine  to  form  syllables,  and  these  syllabic  com- 
pounds are  then  used  like  the  Japanese  characters  to 
express  their  own  words.  The  original  letters  consist  of 
fifteen  consonants,  called  Jca,  na,  ta,,  la  or  7*«,  ma  or  ha,  pa, 
sa  or  sha,  nga,  tsa  or  cha,  ts'a  or  ch'a,  Jc'a,  t'a,  p'a,  ha,  and  wa  ; 
and  eleven  vowels,  a,  ya,  o,  yo,  oh,  yoh,  u,  yu,  u,  i,  and  dh. 
The  combinations  of  these  form  altogether  one  hundred 


»  Chinese  Repository,  Vol.  X,  pp.  205-215. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  147 

and  sixty-eight  syllables,  the  last  fourteen  of  whicli  are 
triply  combined  by  introducing  the  sound  of  w  between 
the  consonants  and  some  of  the  vowels,  as  hca,  ts'hioo,  &c. 
The  sounds  and  meanings  of  Chinese  characters  are 
expressed  in  this  S3dlabary  in  the  duoglott  works  prepared 
by  the  Coreans  for  learning  Chinese  ;  while  it  is  used  by 
itself  in  works  intended  for  the  natives.  The  Coreans 
have  not,  like  the  Japanese,  unnecessarily  increased  the 
difficulty  of  their  own  language  by  employing  a  great 
number  of  signs  for  the  same  sound,  but  are  content  with 
one  series.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  facility  results  in  a 
greater  diffusion  of  knowledge  among  the  people.  The 
Japanese  have  the  inflections  of  cases,  moods,  tenses  and 
voices,  in  their  language  ;  but  these  features  are  denoted 
in  Corean  by  the  collocation  of  the  words,  and  the  words 
themselves  remain  unchanged  as  in  Chinese.  The  sounds 
of  the  Corean  are  pleasant,  and  both  it  and  the  Japanese 
allow  many  alterations  and  elisions  for  the  sake  of 
euphony.  Further  investigation  will  probably  show  some 
connection  originally  between  the  Corean  and  Manchu 
languages,  though  the  former  of  these  has  been  more 
modified  by  the  Chinese  than  the  latter.* 

The  people  of  Annam  have  adopted  the  Chinese  cha- 
racters without  making  a  syllabary  or  alphabet  to  express 
their  own  vernacular.  The  inhabitants  of  this  country 
are  evidently  of  the  same  race  as  the  Chinese,  and  now 
acknowledge  a  nominal  subjection  to  the  emperor  of  China 
by  sending  a  triennial  embassy  to  Peking,  partly  com- 
mercial and  partly  tributary.  The  sounds  given  to  the 
Chinese  characters  are,  however,  so  unlike  those  given 
them  in  China,  that  the  two  nations  cannot  converse  with 
each  other.  The  Annam ese  have  many  sounds  in  their 
spoken  language  which  no  Chinese  can  enunciate.  The 
court  dialect  is  learned  by  educated  men,  and  books  are 
written  and  printed  in  Chinese.     The  sounds  given  to  the 

•  Chinese  Repository.     Vol.  I.,  p.  276  ;  Vol.  II.,  pp.  135-138. 


148  THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY. 

characters  are  all  monos3dlabic,  and  slight  analogies  can 
be  traced  running  through  the  variations  ;  but  they  offer 
very  little  assistance  to  any  one,  who,  knowing  only  one 
mode  of  pronunciation,  wishes  to  learn  the  other. 

Much  of  the  interest  connected  with  the  investigation 
of  the  Chinese  and  its  cognate  tongues,  arises  from  the 
immense  multitudes  which  speak  and  write  them  ;  and 
from  the  influence  which  China  has,  through  the  writings 
of  her  sages,  exerted  over  the  minds  and  progress  of  her 
neighbors.  There  is  nothing  like  it  in  European  history  ; 
but  the  spell  cast  over  the  intellects  of  the  millions  in 
eastern  Asia,  by  the  writings  of  Confucius,  Mencius,  and 
their  disciples,  is  likely  erelong  to  be  broken  by  the  infu- 
sion of  Christian  knowledge,  the  extension  of  commerce, 
and  a  better  understanding  of  their  political  and  social 
rights  by  the  multitudes  who  now  adopt  them. 

For  much  of  the  mformation  embraced  in  this  memoir 
on  China,  Japan,  and  the  adjacent  countries,  I  am  indebt- 
ed to  the  Chinese  Repository,  (a  monthly  journal  printed 
at  Canton,)  and  more  especially  to  one  of  its  accomplished 
editors,  Mr.  S.  Wells  Williams.  This  gentleman  during 
a  residence  of  twelve  years  in  China,  has  made  himself 
familiar  with  the  written  and  spoken  language  of  the 
Chinese,  and  is  ranked,  by  some  of  the  eminent  Sinologists 
of  Europe,  among  the  profoundest  adepts  in  that  branch 
of  literature  and  philology.  Mr.  Williams  has  also  studied 
the  Japanese  language,  which  he  reads  and  speaks ;  and 
is  probably  the  only  man  in  America  familiar  with  the 
languages  of  China  and  Japan.  Several  natives  of  Japan, 
driven  by  adverse  winds  from  their  native  shores,  found 
their  way  to  China,  and  were  subsequently  taken  by  an 
American  ship  to  Yedo,  but  were  not  permitted  to  land. 
From  these  men,  Mr.  Williams  has  learned  the  spoken 
Japanese,  and  as  much  of  the  written  language  as  they 
could  impart.  This  gentleman  is  at  present  in  New  York 
making  arrangements  for  getting  founts  of  Chinese,  Ja- 
panese, and  Manchu  type,  for  printing  in  these  languages. 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGY.  149 

The  Chinese  Repository  is  a  monthly  journal,  printed 
at  Canton,  and  is  edited  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Bridgman  and 
Mr.  Williams.  It  contains  much  valuable  information 
relating  to  China,  Japan,  and  the  eastern  Archipelago, 
and  frequently  memoirs,  translated  from  the  Japanese  and 
Chinese.  On  the  whole,  it  may  with  truth  be  said  to 
embody  more  information  than  any  other  work  extant, 
on  these  countries. 

Mr.  Williams  has  now  in  press  a  new  work  on  the 
Chinese  empire,  which  will  contain  an  account  of  its  gen- 
eral political  divisions,  including  Manchuria,  Mongolia, 
Hi  and  Tibet,  their  geographical  and  topographical 
features.  The  natural  history  of  China;  its  government, 
laws,  literature,  language,  science,  industry  and  arts. 
Social  and  domestic  life — History  and  Chronology' — Reli- 
gion; Christian  missions  ;  intercourse  with  other  nations  ; 
and  a  full  account  of  the  late  war  with  England. 

The  history  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  China, 
in  the  seventh  century  of  the  Christian  era,  the  traces  of 
which  still  exist ;  and  of  the  Jews  in  China,  are  subjects 
which  are  now  attracting  attention.  It  would  occupy  too 
much  space  to  give  any  particulars  in  this  brief  memoir. 
In  the  list  of  late  works  on  China,  will  be  found  references 
to  such  books  as  treat  of  the  subject,  to  which  the  attention 
of  the  reader  is  directed. 

The  Syrian  monument  which  has  been  often  referied 
to,  is  one  of  great  interest,  and  is  believed  by  all  who  have 
examined  the  subject,  to  be  genuine.  This  monument 
was  discovered  by  some  Chinese  workmen,  in  the  year 
1625,  in  or  near  the  city  of  Singan,  the  capital  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Shensi,  and  once  the  metropolis  of  the  empire. 
The  monument  was  found  covered  with  rubbish,  and  was 
immediately  reported  to  the  magistrate,  who  caused  it  to 
be  removed  to  a  pagoda,  where  it  was  examined  by  both 
natives  and  foreigners.  Christians  and  Pagans.  It  was  a 
slab  of  marble,  about  ten  feet  long  and  five  broad.  It 
contained  on  one  side  a  Chinese  inscription,  which  was 


150  THE   PROGRESS    OP    ETHNOLOGY 

translated  by  Father  Kircher  into  Latin,  and  by  Dalquie 
into  French.  Mr.  Bridgman  has  given  an  Enghsh  trans- 
lation, and  has  published  the  three  versions,  accompanied 
by  the  original  Chinese,  with  explanatory  notes.  This 
inscription  commemorates  the  progress  of  Christianity 
in  China,  and  was  erected  in  the  year  of  the  Christian 
era  718.  Mr.  Bridgman  who  is  one  of  the  most  learned 
in  the  Chinese  language,  says  in  conclusion,  that  "there 
are  strong  internal  evidences  of  its  being  the  work  of  a 
professor  of  Christianity,  and  such  we  believe  it  to  be."* 
Other  portions  of  this  memoir  might  be  very  much 
enlarged,  but  would  extend  it  beyond  the  bounds  of  the 
resume,  which  it  is  intended  to  give.  There  are  besides 
other  countries  and  people,  accounts  of  which  it  would  be 
desirable  to  give  place  to,  particularly  those  of  Central 
Asia,  but  they  are  unavoidably  passed  over  from  the  space 
that  would  be  required  to  do  them  justice.  The  object  of 
this  paper  is  to  awaken  the  attention  of  readers  to  the 
geographical  and  ethnographical  discoveries  made  within 
the  last  few  years,  all  of  which  have  a  bearing  on  the 
history  and  progress  of  the  human  race.  If  the  author 
has  succeeded  in  so  doing,  he  will  feel  abundantly  repaid 
for  his  labor. 


*  Chinese  Repository,     Vol.  XIV.     p.  202. 

The  recent  works  on  China  are  embraced  in  the  following  list. 

China  ;  Political,  Commercial  and  Social ;  with  descriptions  of  the  consular 
ports  of  Canton,  Amoy,  Ningpo  and  Shanghai,  etc.,  etc.  By  R.  Montgomery 
Martin.     London,  1847. 

Chinese  Commercial  Guide.     Macao,  1844. 

Voyage  of  the  Nemesis ;  By  W.  D.  Barnard.  2  vols.  Bvo.  London,  1843. 
2d  ed.  12mo.  1846. 

Events  in  China.     By  Granville  Loch,  R.  N.     1844. 

War  in  China.     By  Lieut.  Ochterlony.     1844. 

The  Land  of  Sinim,  with  a  brief  account  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  in  China, 
By  a  missionary.     12mo.  N.  Y.,  1846. 

Sketches  of  China.  By  J.  F.  Davis.     2  vols.  12mo.  1845. 

The  Jews  in  China.     By  J.  Finn.     12mo.  London,  1844. 
.  Les  Juifs  de  la  Chine,  par  H.  Hirsch,  ^extrait  des  Israelites  de  France).  1844. 

Relation  des  Voyages  fails  par  les  Arabes  et  les  Persans  dans  I'lnde  el  i  la 


THE  PROGRESS  OF  ETHNOLOGV.  151 

Chine,  dans  le  IXth  sifecle  der6re  Chr<5tiennc,  par  M.  Reinnud.     Paris,   1815. 
2  vols.  18ino. 

Three  years  wanderings  in  China.     By  Robert  Fortune.    8vo.  London,  1847. 

The  pliilological  and  other  works  on  Cliina,  by  M.  Pauthier,  a  dislinguislied 
French  scholar,  are  among  the  most  valuable  works  in  this  department  of  learn- 
ing.    They  embrace  the  following. 

Sinico-.iEgyptiaca,  essai  sur  I'origine  et  la  formation  similaire  des  ('■critures 
figuratives  Chinoise  et  Egyptienne,  etc.     8vo. 

De  I'origine  des  difKrentes  systfemes  d'6criture.     4to. 

Examen  m^thodique  des  fails  qui  concernent  le  Thian-Tchu  ou  I'lnde ; 
traduit  du  Chinois.     8vo. 

Documents  statistiques  officiels  sur  I'empire  de  la  Chine  ;  traduits  du  Ciiinois. 
Bvo. 

La  Chine,  avec  73  planches.     Bvo. 

La  Chine  ouverte,  aventures  d'un  Fan-kouei  dans  le  pays  de  Tsin ;  illustrd 
par  Auguste  Borget.     Bvo.     Paris,  1845. 

La  Chine  et  les  Chinois,  par  le  meme.     8vo.     Paris,  1844. 

Systema  Phoneticum  Scripturae  Sinicae,  auctore.  J.  M.  Callery.  2  vols, 
royal  Bvo.     Macao,  1842. 

Narrative  of  the  second  campaign  in  China,  by  R.  S.  Mackenzie.  l2mo. 
London. 

A  work  by  G.  Tradescant  Lay  ;  and  another  by  Professor  Kid,  have  also  been 
published  on  China. 


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